Cold Weather Carrot Soup

There seems to be a mystical connection between the lesson planning in the Edible Schoolyard kitchen classroom and the universe. Last week when we prepared a Middle Eastern mezze platter, the weather was freakishly warm. This week’s recipe is a beautiful and nourishing carrot soup and we experienced an unprecedented drop in the temperature and icy conditions outside. How nice it is when Mother Nature sets such a perfect stage for our lessons.

For the soup recipe, students initiated the process of making vegetable stock. They saved the peels from carrots and onions as well as the stems of thyme and parsley to be made into a large pot of stock. Each class prepared the stock for the next, engaging in the practical and generous act of enabling others in their cooking process. With loads of crisp, winter-sweetened carrots, onions, thyme and a little butter, our seventh graders learned two valuable life skills: making vegetable stock and preparing a simple, seasonal soup.

We are also preparing students for their culminating kitchen lesson coming up in May: the famous Iron Chef competition where students work in teams to showcase their cooking skills with no assistance from their teachers. To that end, students are taking on new responsibilities such as leading the group check-in and job assignment as well as overseeing clean-up.

As the soup simmered on the stove, students set the table and also continued building their descriptive word vocabulary by adding to the chalkboard their observations of the sights, textures, flavors and aromas created as the carrot soup cooked.

Using our new immersion blenders, students pureed the soup and served it with an optional topping of gremolata, a fragrant mixture of minced parsley, garlic and lemon zest. The bright and sunny orange color of the soup combined with the warm and steamy environment in the kitchen to create a cozy and satisfying haven from the winter chill outside.

The chalk board introduces students to the recipe of the day

Fresh, seasonal ingredients are the foundation of a delicious soup

Simmering stock and chopped vegetables are cooked together in a soup pot

The finished soup, garnished with gremolata, is warm comfort on a cold day