Potage de Creçy is a simple carrot soup with French origins. Apparently is can be brothy or creamy, hot or cold, and contain other root veggies in addition to carrots. I first made this soup after I came home from teaching a pickling class with almost 3lbs of leftover carrots in tow. Looking for a way to use them all (other than making pickles) I made this humble soup, and was hugely and pleasantly surprised by how delicious and fresh a dish of almost just carrots was. You are not gonna believe it!!
Recipe Notes
Young n’ Fresh
Young, fresh carrots make the smoothest and sweetest potage de creçy, but if you are more likely to have old n’ stale carrots, those will still make a good soup! To sweeten the soup, add a bit of sugar if you like. I haven’t often found I’ve needed to do that (even with oldies) but in case you do, there it is! If your soup isn’t as ultra-smooth-velvety-fierce as you prefer, strain through a fine mesh sieve after pureeing.
A-peeling
I do personally feel that the carrots should be peeled for an ultra-smooth texture. You certainly don’t have to peel them if you don’t want to. If you do peel your carrots, save the peels in the freezer for stock!
What’s With The Fancy Rice?
Aborio rice is used to thicken this soup, and to add to its smooth texture. If you don’t have aborio rice, use another short grain rice if you can– short grain rice is more glutinous (starchy) than medium or long grain. I haven’t tried to make this with any other kind of rice, but my gut says it would still probably be very tasty!
Blending In
Long ago (read: 5 years ago) in the days of my youth, I made a roasted red pepper soup. I didn’t have an immersion blender at the time. I roasted, steamed, and peeled those peppers, then cooked them in broth, then waited for the broth to cool, then blended the soup in what felt like hundreds of batches in my teeny-tiny magic bullet blender. It was still super hot because I had to finish it before I left for work, and I burned the crap out of all my fingertips holding and filling that magic bullet. It was the most laborious thing I had ever cooked, so the next day I ordered an immersion blender.
My point is, if you like pureed soups as much as I do, just get an immersion blender. It is SO MUCH EASIER to just stick the blender right in the pot and blend. Here is the one I have, I’ve had it ever since that fateful soup experience and it’s been great.
If your dalliance with pureed soups is once in a blue moon, just give yourself time to let the soup cool before you blend it in batches, and vent the lid so it doesn’t explode!
One more note on blending: add the dairy AFTER the soup is pureed, otherwise the dairy will foam and you will have a soup latte. Not necessarily a bad thing– this can actually be nice, especially for cold soups to make them lighter, but, now you know so you can make the right choice for your tastes.
Flavoring
Like I said, this soup is fabulous all by itself. I love the addition of fresh herbs and how they add to the flavor, but they aren’t wholly necessary. If you wanted to, you could also try a version of this soup with curry, ginger, or even smoked paprika. It’s very amenable to tweaks!
Baguette About It!
I looooove a crusty baguette. I love a cheese toast. I love croutons. Try them all with this soup!
Croutons are stupid easy to make at home– here’s my recipe!
Potage de Creçy (Creamy Carrot Soup) Recipe
Potage de Creçy (Classic Carrot Soup)
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp butter,
- 6 cups peeled and sliced carrots
- 2.5 cups diced onions
- 1/3 cup aborio rice
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 5.5 cups chicken or vegetable stock plus 1 cup more if needed.
- 1/2 tsp salt,
- 1 cup whole milk
- Black pepper
- fresh chopped herbs for serving (I like chives, dill, and/or parsley)
Instructions
- In a large, heavy bottomed pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the carrot and onion and sweat until the onion is translucent and the carrots are softened, about 10 minutes.
- Add the rice and tomato paste and cook, stirring, about 1 minute. Add the stock and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and simmer until the rice is tender, about 12 minutes.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. (Alternatively, the soup can be pureed in batches in a blender-- if you use this approach, allow the soup to cool a bit first, and vent the blender lid to avoid explosions.)
- Stir in the milk to the pureed soup, and add more stock if the soup is too thick. Heat until warmed through.
- Serve the soup hot topped with freshly cracked black pepper and fresh herbs. Drizzle with a bit of heavy cream for a fancy look!
See more soups, stews, + curries here!
