Oh so creamy and delicious! This gorgeous carrot soup recipe gets its unusual flavor from lovely star-anise which infuses the broth right at the end. No need for laboriously chopping onions, garlic, ginger etc. This carrot soup only has 5 ingredients but you will be absolutely blown away by the flavor. Trust me!

Carrot soup recipe, Carrot and Star-Anise Soup, SpicyFig
Carrot and Star-Anise Soup

Carrot and Star-Anise Soup..

I made this beautiful soup for Thanksgiving 2019 and I have given the recipe to almost all of my guests since then. This carrot soup recipe was one of my favorites when I was a chef in yachting for two reasons – 1) it’s amazingly delicious 2) it’s amazingly fast and easy.

We are skiing in Italy this week and the food is amazing. But there is a lot of pasta and pizza to be consumed. I knew we wouldn’t want to eat out every night so before leaving I made a big batch of this soup, froze it, packed it in a cooler and transported it up the mountain with us to Limone Piemonte. This carrot soup is so good that you are willing to give up much needed space in a packed-to-the-rim SUV to travel with it up to the mountains!

Star-anise is the secret little gem in this carrot soup recipe. Star-anise comes originally from Vietnam and China but has become an essential spice used in Indian cuisine as well as Western dishes like mulled wine or “vin chaud.” (Another delicacy we will be overindulging in this week while skiing!) It has an amazing sweet and spicy flavor that permeates the dish in which it is cooked. But don’t forget to remove it before serving as it is not a spice you want to bite down on!

Worth the indulgence…

This is not a low-fat dairy-free soup but believe me – it’s worth the indulgence. When we get home I will try a coconut-milk version and let you know. But when something is this good and this easy you will also be reluctant to tamper with it! If you want to try a scrumptious dairy-free carrot soup check out Spiced Carrot, Lentil and Coconut Soup – another one of my favorites!

Carrot soup recipe, Carrot and Star-Anise Soup, SpicyFig
Carrot and Star-Anise Soup
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Carrot and Star-Anise Soup

Full of surprising flavor this fast, creamy soup is just what you need in the winter

  • Author: Jessica Verity
Scale

Ingredients

  • 2 Tablespoons butter
  • 1 lb (450g) carrots, peeled and chopped into rounds
  • 2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
  • 1 cup heavy cream (crème entière)
  • 4 star-anise

Instructions

  1. Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium heat.
  2. Add the carrots to the butter and saute for 5 minutes.
  3. Pour in the stock and cream and bring to a boil.
  4. Lower the heat to simmer and simmer the soup, gently and uncovered, for 55 minutes, until the carrots are tender.
  5. Remove the soup from the heat. Add the star-anise and allow it to infuse for 20 minutes.
  6. Remove the star-anise from the soup and discard. With an immersion blender purée the soup until smooth and all carrots have been puréed.
  7. Gently reheat and Serve!