Moroccan Carrot Soup

This easy to prepare carrot soup is delicious. It appeared in the April 2010 issue of Bon Appetit and won rave reviews on the Epicurious website. Although the recipe supposedly serves four, I would double it for that number of hearty portions. If there's a bit extra, enjoy it the next day.

2 tbl. butter

1 cup chopped white onion

1 lb. large carrots, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch dice (about 2 2/3 cups)

2 1/2 cups low salt chicken broth

1 1/2 tsps. cumin seed

1 tbl. honey

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1/8 tsp. ground allspice

1/2 cup plain yogurt, stirred to loosen

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium high heat. Add onion and saute for 2 minutes. Mix in carrots. Add broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until carrots are very tender, about 20 minutes.

Stir cumin seeds in small skillet until fragrant, 4-5 minutes; cool. Finely grind in spice mill.

Remove soup from heat. Puree using a submersible blender or puree in batches in a blender until smooth. With soup in saucepan, whisk in honey, lemon juice and allspice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle soup into bowls, drizzle yogurt over soup and sprinkle generously with cumin.

Serves 2-3

Notes: I used olive oil instead of butter. If you have only ground cumin, use that. The taste won't be as striking but it will still be good. If the honey doesn't appeal to you, omit it; same for the allspice. You can also substitute another spice if allspice is not your cup of tea. Cinnamon, ginger, cardamom or fennel are possibilities.