Using the Creamy Carrot Soup recipe, you can create a pasta sauce that kids—and adults—will love. Its natural sweetness is irresistible and complex with spices, and its creaminess lets it cling to noodles for a satisfying one-dish meal. It works well on both long noodles and short pasta shapes. This recipe will make extra carrot puree, it's great to use for other dishes or to eat on its own as a soup. Or freeze, to make this dish quickly anytime you want to.

Creamy Carrot Pasta with Poppy Seeds

Servings

Author:

Lior Lev Sercarz, from "Mastering Spice" by Lior Lev Sercarz

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Ingredients

Spice Blend

1 1/4 teaspoons cumin seeds (4 grams)
1 teaspoon pink pepper (2 grams)
1/8 teaspoon chipotle chile powder (1/4 gram)
3/4 teaspoon pimentón (smoked paprika; 2 grams)
Finely grind the cumin and pink pepper together and immediately mix with the chipotle and pimentón. (If you’d like more to sprinkle over the soup, make a double batch and reserve half for serving.)

Sauce

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to taste
5 large garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
2 large yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
Kosher salt
9 medium carrots, scrubbed, halved lengthwise, and sliced
2 large celery stalks, halved lengthwise and sliced
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice with pulp (from about 2 oranges)

Carrot pasta

1 pound dried pasta
Olive oil
1 Tbsp poppy seeds

Directions

To make the soup: Heat the oil in a large sauce pan over medium-low heat. When the oil is slightly warm but not hot, after about 30 seconds, add the spice blend and stir until the spices bloom and become very fragrant, about 30 seconds. Don’t let the spices burn.
Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until sizzling and aromatic, 1 to 2 min- utes. Add the onions, sprinkle generously with salt, and cook, stirring continuously, for 2 minutes. Cover and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the saucepan occasionally, to soften the onions a bit and let the spices infuse the onions, about 8 minutes.
Add the carrots and celery and stir well to coat with the spices. Cover and cook, stirring and scraping occasionally, to soften the carrots and infuse them with flavor, about 8 minutes.
Add the orange juice, stir well, and cover. Cook for 5 minutes. Add 3 cups cold water, stir well, and increase the heat to high. Bring to a steady simmer. Season to taste with salt, cover, and reduce the heat to maintain a low simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are cooked through but still retain a fresh flavor, about 20 minutes.
Transfer the soup to a blender and blend until smooth, working in batches if needed and adding more water if you prefer a thinner soup. If you want an extra-smooth soup, pour it through a fine-mesh sieve. If you want a richer soup, blend in 1 to 2 tablespoons more olive oil. Season to taste with salt.
Transfer 3 cups of the pureed soup to a large pot and reserve the rest for another use.
Boil 1 pound pasta until it is just shy of al dente (usually about 1 minute less than the package directions). Meanwhile, heat the creamy carrot soup over medium heat until bubbling. Drain the pasta and add it to the soup, tossing until the pasta is evenly coated and al dente. Divide among plates, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon poppy seeds.

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Creamy Carrot Pasta