Tofu-Carrot Soup… With Ginger!

I have come to the conclusion that soups are best "made-fresh yesterday".  A classic soup like chicken noodle is always better if you simmer it all day.  But cream soups often don't have long simmer times.  I'm not sure if this is an oversight, due to the puree and cream-adding processes (most of which happen at the end of cooking), or just a convenient shortcut we assume is Ok because there's a lot of other things going on with the recipe, like cream, that will make up for it.  Either way, the following recipe was mildly disappointing to me until I ate the leftover the next day and tasted all the flavor I had expected.

Unfortunately, I can't remember for sure where I originally came across this recipe.  I think it might've been an issue of Better Homes and Gardens.  All I know is I have it written out on a sheet of notebook paper and a vague memory of transcribing it from a magazine I found at church.  The original recipe called for mushrooms, which would've given some umami flavor, but I was pushing it feeding my husband tofu.  Mushrooms would've crossed the line.  I added ginger, because ginger and carrots are a wonderful combination.

Tofu-Carrot Soup
2 stalks celery
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
3/4 inch piece of ginger root
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
4 C chopped carrots
5-6 C chicken stock
1 (12.3 oz) package firm silken-style tofu
1 (5 oz) can evaporated milk
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
~1 tsp dried, ground ginger (to taste)

Chop the celery, onion, garlic, and ginger.  In a soup pot (or dutch oven), heat the oil over medium heat, the sauté the celery, onion, and garlic until soft.  Add the carrots and stock, bring to a boil, the reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes, until everything is tender.

Cut up the tofu and add it and the evaporated milk to the soup.  Use an immersion blender and puree until smooth.  If you haven't got an immersion blender, cool the soup slightly, and process in a normal blender.  Stir in the thyme, and season to taste with ginger, salt, pepper, and worcestershire sauce.

Thin the sour cream with 2-3 tsp water.  Serve the soup hot, garnishing with green onions if desired.

As I said in the beginning, I was disappointed until I had the leftovers.  The ginger didn't come out as much as I had hoped, making the whole thing a tad lackluster.  But the leftovers!  They had wonderfully developed ginger flavor, which blended with and brought out the carrot.  

I will say I did a good job with the umami, though.  Worcestershire isn't as great as mushrooms (or fish sauce, possibly), but it did a nice job giving the soup a little more meaty flavor.  That's also why I chose to use chicken stock rather than vegetable broth-- well, that, and I generally have chicken stock on hand.

And I have to say, I liked the silken-style tofu.  As its name suggests, it has a smoother texture than normal tofu, which I suppose helps it incorporate smoothly into the soup, giving a creamy texture to the whole thing.  And it was wonderfully, surprisingly creamy.

It was yummy, and I would probably make it again.  I'd just make it a day ahead of time, let it sit in my fridge, and warm it up to serve it.  Actually, it wouldn't be bad as a cold soup for the summer, if you're into that kind of thing.  Was it my favorite soup?  Nah.  But it wasn't bad at all.