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The Case for Pre-Ground Black Pepper

For years, my kitchen altar—the little marble tray full of cooking essentials that sits next to my stove—has looked exactly the same. It includes a wooden utensil crock, squeeze bottles of olive and vegetable oil, a butter keeper, a salt cellar, and a …

For years, my kitchen altar—the little marble tray full of cooking essentials that sits next to my stove—has looked exactly the same. It includes a wooden utensil crock, squeeze bottles of olive and vegetable oil, a butter keeper, a salt cellar, and a large wooden pepper grinder. But recently, I’ve made a noteworthy change, swapping out the pepper grinder for a small bowl of pre-ground pepper.

I, like many of you, have long been under the impression that pre-ground black pepper is somehow inferior to freshly ground, but after these past few months of cooking with pre-ground pepper, I have to admit…it might be time to reconsider. After all, why should we be beholden to the cult of “freshly cracked” pep? Is the Big Grinder lobby to blame? Is the phrase “freshly cracked” akin to Lucky Strike’s tagline, “It’s Toasted,” technically true, but signifying nothing?

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Carrot Soup

Roasted carrots and brown butter take a humble carrot soup to a new level of yum. PS this recipe got props from Chef Gordon Ramsay. Try it!

The post Carrot Soup appeared first on Budget Bytes.

When times were tight, I’d go to the dollar store for groceries. On one occasion, I picked up a bag of carrots in the hopes that my two-year-old would want to have them as a healthy snack. By the end of the week, defeated by a toddler, I found myself staring blankly at a wilting bag of carrots I could not afford to waste. And so this roasted carrot soup was born. I use brown butter for nuttiness, cream to add body, and ginger and thyme to elevate the flavors. It’s so good, it got props from Chef Gordon Ramsay when I made it on MasterChef.

Overhead shot of carrot soup in a white Dutch oven with sour cream swirled in it.

Is Roasting Necessary?

Roasting is what makes this soup special. It’s the greatest gift you can give a root veggie with very minimal effort. All you have to do is chop carrots and put them in an oven! As the carrots roast, they develop deeper flavors through caramelization. Don’t worry if a few of them charr, as that browning will add a nice smokiness to the finished product. Roasting also reduces the time you’ll need to keep your carrots simmering on a stove. Make sure to slice carrots evenly, so they cook at the same pace.

Boiling Instead of Simmering

Do your best to keep your soup at a simmer, not a boil. You’re looking for gentle bubbles and steam. Otherwise, you’re evaporating most of your liquid before the carrots are through cooking. Boiling soup also causes nutrient loss and destroys aromas. A gentle simmer > a raging boil. ( If you’re single, you can also apply that equation to your love life. You’re welcome.)

Overhead shot of carrot soup in three white bowls with sour cream swirled in it

Can I freeze carrot soup?

Yes, you can freeze carrot soup. Make sure to freeze it in individual portions, as you should only thaw it once. It should keep for up to three months. After that, you can thaw it in the fridge overnight and reheat it in a pot over low heat, or pop the individual portion into a microwave straight from the freezer—cover to avoid splatter, and cook until it’s steaming.

What can I serve with carrot soup?

This soup is very filling, but it also pairs well with these fantastic recipes:

Overhead shot of carrot soup in a white Dutch Oven with sour cream swirled in it.

Side shot of white bowl with carrot soup in it.

Carrot Soup

This roasted carrot soup transforms the humble carrot into a vibrant meal. It scores major points for being as economical as it is hearty. Keep it vegetarian or add chicken breast for a protein punch.
Course Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine American
Total Cost $4.71 recipe / $1.03 serving
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 4 2 cups each
Calories 504kcal
Author Monti – Budget Bytes

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs carrots $1.49
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil $0.12
  • 1/2 tsp salt $0.03
  • 4 Tbsp salted butter $0.50
  • 1 yellow onion $0.65
  • 1 tsp thyme $0.10
  • 3 cups water $0.00
  • 3 cups chicken broth $0.36
  • 1 cup heavy cream $1.12
  • 2 tsp fresh ginger $0.21
  • 2 sprigs Italian parsley (optional) $0.05
  • 4 Tbsp sour cream (optional) $0.08

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F. Clean the carrots and cut them into 1/4 inch rounds. Drizzle with olive oil and salt. Roast the carrots at 400°F for about 35 minutes until they have softened and begun to caramelize.
  • Dice the onions. Add the butter to a large Dutch oven and cook over medium heat until it foams and the milk solids start to brown. Turn off the heat, add the thyme and cook for one minute, to infuse the butter.
  • Turn the heat to medium and cook the onions in the browned butter until the onions are translucent, about two minutes.
  • Add the chicken broth and water and cover. Simmer until carrots are done.
  • When the carrots have begun to caramelize, take them out of the oven.
  • Add the carrots to the chicken broth. Cook uncovered until carrots easily fall apart when pressed by a fork.
  • Add soup to a blender, Take the center cap off of your blender lid and cover with a towel. Blend in two batches and puree.
  • Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and a few leaves of Italian parsley

Nutrition

Serving: 2cups | Calories: 504kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 43g | Sodium: 1221mg | Fiber: 7g
Overhead shot of three bowls of carrot soup with sour cream swirled in them.

How to Make Carrot Soup – Step by Step Photos

Overhead shot of sliced raw carrots in a sheet pan.

Preheat your oven to 400°F. Peel the 2 pounds of carrots and cut them into 1/4 inch rounds. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Roast the carrots at 400°F for about 35 minutes until they have softened and caramelized.

Overhead shot of butter browning.

While the carrots roast, dice the onion. Add 4 tablespoons of salted butter to a Dutch oven and cook over medium heat until it foams and the milk solids start to brown. Add 1 teaspoon of thyme and let it cook for a minute.

Overhead shot of butter browning.

Add the diced onion to the browned butter and thyme. Cook the onion until they it is translucent, about two minutes.

Overhead shot of chicken stock being poured into soup base.

Add the 3 cups of chicken broth and the 3 cups of water. Scrape up any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Cover and simmer with the lid on until the carrots are ready.

Overhead shot of sheet pan with roasted carrots.

Once the carrots have started to caramelize, take them out of the oven.

Overhead shot of carrots cooking in cream mixture.

Add the roasted carrots to the chicken broth mixture. Simmer until they soften so much they fall apart easily when pressed by a fork.

Overhead shot of blended carrot soup.

Before blending the soup, remove the center cap off of your lid and cover the hole with a kitchen towel. Add half of the soup to the blender and puree. Repeat.

Overhead shot of carrot soup in a white bowl with sour cream swirled in it.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. If you’d like to garnish your soup, try it with a dollop of sour cream, some Italian parsley, and black pepper.

Try These Other Great Creamy Soups

The post Carrot Soup appeared first on Budget Bytes.


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Crispy Skin Salmon (Perfect Every Time!)

Are you ready to learn how to make restaurant-quality salmon at home? We thought so! This salmon is quick and easy — and so rewarding! Not only is it perfectly tender and flaky with crispy skin, but it’s incredibly versatile and perfect for pairing wit…

Crispy Skin Salmon (Perfect Every Time!)

Are you ready to learn how to make restaurant-quality salmon at home? We thought so! This salmon is quick and easy — and so rewarding! Not only is it perfectly tender and flaky with crispy skin, but it’s incredibly versatile and perfect for pairing with bowls, risotto, and beyond! 

Just 1 pan, 15 minutes, and 4 ingredients are required for the ultimate at-home salmon.

Crispy Skin Salmon (Perfect Every Time!) from Minimalist Baker →

Wild Rice Salad with Mushrooms and Herbs

Friends, prepare yourselves for the ultimate flavor-packed, comfort-filled, fall-infused side: wild rice salad! This dish is our favorite kind: low effort, BIG reward! It’s simple to prepare but doesn’t skimp on flavor (hello mushrooms, hazelnuts, cran…

Wild Rice Salad with Mushrooms and Herbs

Friends, prepare yourselves for the ultimate flavor-packed, comfort-filled, fall-infused side: wild rice salad! This dish is our favorite kind: low effort, BIG reward! It’s simple to prepare but doesn’t skimp on flavor (hello mushrooms, hazelnuts, cranberries, and fresh herbs!)

Not only that, but it can be served warm or at room temperature — perfect for when those other holiday dishes are running a bit behind (please tell us we’re not the only ones)!

Wild Rice Salad with Mushrooms and Herbs from Minimalist Baker →

How Pepper Went From “Black Gold” to Everyday Seasoning

It was Britain’s enterprising nature and quest for food that led to colonization—and effectively changed global cuisine, suggests Lizzie Collingham in The Hungry Empire. There’s no question the spice trade made a permanent impact on the way we eat, one…

It was Britain’s enterprising nature and quest for food that led to colonization—and effectively changed global cuisine, suggests Lizzie Collingham in The Hungry Empire. There’s no question the spice trade made a permanent impact on the way we eat, one of the largest being the discovery of black pepper. Native to the Malabar Coast of India (present day Kerala), black pepper, or Piper nigrum, is a flowering vine that is cultivated for its fruit, the peppercorn. Regarded as the world’s most traded spice, black pepper gets its spicy warmth from a compound called piperine. Now considered a commonplace ingredient in the pantry (right after salt, and often ground into dust and left to sit on supermarket shelves for long before it’s used to season food), black pepper’s treatment in many kitchens can only be described as unfortunate. We seem to have forgotten about its glorious early years—and its contribution to myriad styles of cuisine.

The spice trade started before the Common Era, with Arab merchants in the Middle East who controlled and conducted the luxury goods business along the Silk Road, an important pathway that connected Asia to the Middle East and other parts of North Africa and Europe, which eventually led to the Romans entering the market. While there are records of black pepper in ancient Greek and Roman texts, the spice was largely popularized in the late 15th century, after a discovery by the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama on the shores of Calicut (present day Kozhikode), India—the spice was so abundant, it ultimately led to Portuguese domination of the area.

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What to Do With Crunchy, Sweet & Spicy Peppers

It’s the season of overflowing market bags, heavy CSA boxes, and gardens run amok. Alexandra Stafford of Alexandra Cooks is showing us how to store, prep, and make the most of the bounty, without wasting a scrap.
Today: How to store…

It's the season of overflowing market bags, heavy CSA boxes, and gardens run amok. Alexandra Stafford of Alexandra Cooks is showing us how to store, prep, and make the most of the bounty, without wasting a scrap.

Today: How to store, prep, and make the most of the season's pepper crop, whether you have just a handful or you picked so many you should be called Peter Piper. Start with Yotam Ottolenghi's marinated pepper salad.

Read More >>


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Enchilada Stuffed Mushrooms

Enchilada Stuffed Mushrooms-portobello mushrooms filled with black beans, corn, bell pepper, enchilada sauce, and cheese. The entire family will love this quick and easy vegetarian meal. Say hello to one of our favorite weeknight meals! Enchilada Stuff…

Enchilada Stuffed Mushrooms-portobello mushrooms filled with black beans, corn, bell pepper, enchilada sauce, and cheese. The entire family will love this quick and easy vegetarian meal. Say hello to one of our favorite weeknight meals! Enchilada Stuffed Mushrooms are hearty, filled with veggies, and oh-so-cheesy. These are similar to my Lasagna Stuffed Mushrooms, but enchilada…

The post Enchilada Stuffed Mushrooms appeared first on Two Peas & Their Pod.

Easy Zucchini Fritters

After having so much success with our Sweet Potato Quinoa Fritters, we wanted to try our hand at a vegan version. So we tested a few variations, and this simple zucchini-dill flavor was the winner!
We swapped eggs for chickpea “eggs” to keep them plan…

Easy Zucchini Fritters

After having so much success with our Sweet Potato Quinoa Fritters, we wanted to try our hand at a vegan version. So we tested a few variations, and this simple zucchini-dill flavor was the winner!

We swapped eggs for chickpea “eggs” to keep them plant-based and gluten-free. And the result was tender, sturdy fritters that are versatile, quick and easy to make, and incredibly flavorful.

Easy Zucchini Fritters from Minimalist Baker →

Easy Pizza Burgers

Pizza may seem an unlikely flavor for a veggie burger, but it’s one of the best we’ve tried! Think chickpeas infused with Italian seasonings and vegan parmesan, coated in bread crumbs, baked until golden brown, and topped with red sauce. Hello, flavor …

Easy Pizza Burgers

Pizza may seem an unlikely flavor for a veggie burger, but it’s one of the best we’ve tried! Think chickpeas infused with Italian seasonings and vegan parmesan, coated in bread crumbs, baked until golden brown, and topped with red sauce. Hello, flavor match made in heaven!

These chickpea-based burgers are plant-based and simple to make, requiring just 10 ingredients and 30 minutes. Let’s do this!

Easy Pizza Burgers from Minimalist Baker →

Steak Kabobs

These Steak Kabobs are marinated in a delicious steak marinade and stacked on a skewer with mushrooms, bell pepper, and red onion and grilled to perfection! Summertime means it’s kabob time and these grilled Steak Kabobs are perfection. The steak…

These Steak Kabobs are marinated in a delicious steak marinade and stacked on a skewer with mushrooms, bell pepper, and red onion and grilled to perfection! Summertime means it’s kabob time and these grilled Steak Kabobs are perfection. The steak gets a tender, delicious flavor from a simple steak marinade and it’s layered with the…

The post Steak Kabobs appeared first on Two Peas & Their Pod.