Summer Carrot Tarragon White Bean Soup Food

SUMMER CARROT, TARRAGON & WHITE BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the oil over a medium heat in a large pan and fry the leeks and carrots for 5 mins to soften.
• Pour over the stock, stir in the garlic, the beans with their liquid, and three-quarters of the tarragon, then cover and simmer for 15 mins or until the veg is just tender. Stir in the remaining tarragon before serving.

SUMMER SQUASH & WHITE BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• In a 6-qt. stockpot, heat butter and oil over medium heat. Add onions; cook and stir 6-8 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer., Add squash and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 10-12 minutes or until squash is tender. Stir in 1 can of beans, parsley, tarragon and salt. Puree soup using an immersion blender. Or cool soup slightly and puree in batches in a blender; return to pan. Stir in remaining can of beans and heat through. Top each serving with yogurt. Freeze option: Freeze cooled soup in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a saucepan, stirring occasionally; add a little broth if necessary.

SUMMER VEGETABLE RAGOUT WITH CARROT-GINGER SAUCE

Steps:

• For sauce:
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, lemongrass, and ginger; sauté until slightly softened but not brown, about 5 minutes. Add apple and curry powder; saut�� until vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes. Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil, then flour and stir 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually pour in carrot juice; bring to boil, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer uncovered until sauce is slightly thickened and reduced to generous 2 1/2 cups, about 20 minutes. Strain sauce through fine strainer set over bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids in strainer. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. DO AHEAD: Sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly. Cover; chill. Rewarm before using.
• For vegetables:
• Preheat oven to 400&def;F. Place eggplant cubes in large bowl. Add 3 tablespoons oil and toss to coat; sprinkle with salt. Spread eggplant cubes in even layer on large rimmed baking sheet. Toss squash and remaining 2 tablespoons oil in same bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread squash in even layer on another large rimmed baking sheet. Roast until squash and eggplant are light golden and tender, turning occasionally, about 25 minutes for squash and 40 minutes for eggplant. Remove baking sheets with vegetables from oven and set aside. Fill large bowl with water and ice. Cook beans in large pot of boiling salted water until just crisp-tender, 2 to 4 minutes, depending on size of beans. Using tongs, transfer beans to bowl of ice water to cool. Drain. Maintain boiling water in same pot; add corn. Cook until corn is just tender, about 5 minutes. Drain corn. Cool slightly. Cut kernels off corn cobs; discard cobs. DO AHEAD: Vegetables can be made 4 hours ahead. Combine all vegetables on large rimmed baking sheet. Let stand at room temperature.
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix garbanzo beans into vegetables; bake until heated through, about 15 minutes.
• Combine hot vegetables and hot carrot-ginger sauce in large bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in arugula and basil.

WHITE BEANS WITH TARRAGON

Steps:

• Soak beans covered by 2" of water for at least twelve hours, adding water if needed; drain and rinse.
• Put beans in a soup pot with water to cover; add peppercorns, loosely, inside a single-layer cheesecloth bag or inside a tea strainer; bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes; skim foam from the top.
• Lower heat and simmer beans, uncovered until beans are tender but not mushy, 2-2 1/4 hours; add water during cooking to keep beans covered.
• Reserve 1/4 cup cooking liquid; drain beans and return to pot or serving bowl; add olive oil, reserved cooking liquid, coarse salt, white pepper and tarragon, mixing well.
• Serve hot or room temperature; drizzle with more oil, if desired.

CARROT AND TARRAGON SOUP

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large saucepan over moderate heat.
• Add the olive oil, onion and garlic and saute for a few minutes.
• Add the carrot to the pan and toss together until well coated.
• Add the lengths of fresh tarragon and toss together.
• Add a little salt and pepper, lower the heat and cover the vegetables with a piece of buttered wax paper or parchment paper.
• Press it down on top of the vegetables.
• Cover and let the vegetables cook over low heat for about 10 minutes.
• Remove the lid and the paper, add the broth and bring to a boil.
• Cook vegetables until soft.
• Remove and discard the tarragon stems.
• Using a hand-held blender or regular blender or food processor, blend the vegetables to a puree.
• When smooth, add the cream and reheat until quite hot.
• Serve with a little fresh tarragon for garnish.