Honeyed Carrot Soup with Dill

I’m often amazed by the truth that when my pantry is stocked with the basics that there is no end to the food possibilities in my kitchen.

I remembered making a carrot soup from the Pioneer Woman back in the day, and recently returned to her site to look for it.  I found her updated Carrot-Thyme Soup with Cream which looked even more intriguing so I set out to make that.  But as it turned out I didn’t have quite the right ingredients she called for.  My jar of dry thyme has been missing since Thanksgiving dinner and I had actually planned to buy fresh thyme from the market for something else and they were out.

Jeremy looked up “substitute for thyme” for me on the internet, but I knew that what I needed was not so much a substitute for thyme as I needed  “an herb –other than thyme– that goes well with carrots”.  We make a side dish of glazed carrots with a bit of dried dill weed sprinkled on top, so I decided to go with that.  It was a successful experiment–the soup was delicious and everyone at it right up.   It was a beautiful bright orange color.  And best of all–I didn’t have to run to the market to pick up just one or two things–I was able to make it work with what I had.

Here’s my recipe, modified from PW for:

Honeyed Carrot Soup with Dill

• 1 quart chicken stock or broth
• 1 1/2 lbs carrots
• 1/2 tsp dry dill weed
• 1/4 cup honey (or less)
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• dash of salt

Pour chicken stock in a small soup pot and bring to a boil.  Meanwhile, peel and roughly chop carrots.  Add to broth and simmer until carrots are soft, about 15 minutes.  Puree with an immersion blender.  (Or puree in batches in a counter top blender or food processor.) Add dill, honey and cream, stir to combine.  Serves 4-6.