Chilled Young Carrot Soup with Clotted Cream, Pistachios, and Mint

Matt Jennings

Townsman, Boston, MA

Clotted cream is traditionally made by gently heating raw milk and skimming off the cream that forms on the surface. Matt Jennings makes it by letting cream and buttermilk sit at room temperature for several hours.

Yield

4 servings

Ingredients

  • Clotted Cream:

  • 1 1/2 cups pasteurized heavy cream (not ultra-pasteurized)
  • 1/2 cup of buttermilk
  • Carrot Soup:

  • 3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch rounds
  • 2 1/2 cups carrot juice, divided
  • 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • Pinch curry powder
  • Pinch ground coriander
  • Pinch ground cumin
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • Leaves from 2 sprigs fresh mint, divided
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
  • 3 tablespoons fine domestic olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons toasted chopped pistachios

Method

To make the clotted cream, combine the cream and buttermilk in a mason jar or container with a tight-fitting lid. Let stand at room temperature until the mixture has thickened to the consistency of softly whipped cream. (This takes anywhere from 12 to 24 hours.) Refrigerate; it will continue to thicken as it chills.

To make the soup, put the carrots, 1 1/4 cups of the carrot juice, butter, honey, curry powder, coriander, and cumin into a medium pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the liquid has evaporated and the carrots are very soft, about 1 hour. Add cream, increase heat to medium, and simmer for 3 minutes.

Transfer the carrots to a blender. Add the remaining 1 1/4 cups carrot juice and half of the mint leaves and purée until smooth. soup through a fine sieve into a medium bowl and season to taste with salt and white pepper. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.

To serve, ladle a portion of the chilled carrot soup into a bowl. Place a spoonful of the homemade clotted cream on top of the soup. Sprinkle the soup with the chopped pistachios, torn mint leaves, and a drizzle of olive oil.


https://www.jamesbeard.org/recipes/chilled-young-carrot-soup-with-clotted-cream-pistachios-and-mint