Thanks to Kristen More for sharing this one! It is a full soup-and-salad meal, with smooth carrot ginger soup on one side and spinach, cranberries, almonds, parsley, and sesame dressing on the other.
The soup gets its texture from carrots, sweet potato, and Yukon Gold potato. The salad adds something fresh and crunchy, which makes the combination feel like a real lunch rather than just a bowl of soup.
This recipe serves two, so double it if you are cooking for a family or hoping for leftovers. If you are bringing it to someone else, pack the salad, dressing, and almonds separately. They can toss everything together when they are ready to eat.
Love this recipe? You may also like the full Postpartum Soups and Stews Collection.
Carrot Ginger Soup with Cranberry-Almond Salad
Ingredients
Soup
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/2 onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
- 4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1 lb sweet potato, peeled and chopped
- 1/2 lb Yukon Gold potato, peeled and chopped
- 4 cups chicken, vegetable broth, or water
Salad
- 5 oz baby spinach
- 1/4 cup almonds
- 1/2 small bunch Italian parsley
- 1/4 c dried cranberries (or other dried fruit)
- 2 tsp sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp shallot, minced
- 1.5 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp honey
- black pepper
- salt
Instructions
- Preheat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Peel and mince shallot; add to salad bowl.
- Once the saucepan is hot, add 2 tbsp olive oil and 2 tbsp butter and swirl to coat the bottom.
- Saute the onion with 1/2 tsp salt for 5 minutes, until soft.
- Add the chopped ginger and saute for 3 minutes.
- Combine the chopped carrots, sweet potato, yukon golds, 1 tsp honey, and 1/2 tsp salt in the saucepan.
- Add broth, bring to a boil; cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 12 minutes.
- In the salad bowl, whisk together 2 tbsp olive oil, 1.5 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp honey, 2 tsp sesame seeds, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1 pinch black pepper.
- Using an immersion (hand) blender (or regular one), puree the soup until smooth.
- Measure out cranberries and almonds. (1/4 c each)
- Shave the leaves off parsley stems; discard the stems and mince the leaves.
- Add the spinach to the bowl with the dressing. Add 3/4 of the parsley, the cranberries, and almonds; toss to combine.
- To serve, pour soup into a bowl, garnish with the remaining parsley, and arrange salad on the side. Enjoy!
Listen While This Simmers
While the carrots cook, listen to Micro Destressing For Busy Parents. Sarah Ezrin offers small ways for busy parents to create moments of calm during a full day.