I was making carrot and ginger soup one morning when I felt the urge to go beyond my standard recipe. I craved something that had the flavor of a faraway place. That’s when I took out my yellow curry powder, coconut milk, and other ingredients that evoked Indonesia, and got to work. The result was an intensely spicy yet sweet, golden-hued puree. One afternoon, when I was able to sneak away to have my hair done, a woman who worked at the salon came running over to me. She told me that she had eaten the Indonesian carrot soup earlier in the day, and couldn’t get over how much she liked its spiciness. Later, she planned to go back for more to bring home to her vegetarian daughter. I always get so excited when customers tell me how my soup brought them such happiness. It makes all those long hours of stirring the kettles worthwhile.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
4 whole cloves garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 large Spanish onion, peeled and diced
2 ribs celery, sliced
3 pounds carrots, peeled and sliced
2 teaspoons ground yellow curry powder
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
8 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup sherry
1/2 cup honey, plus more to taste
2 cans (16 ounces each) coconut milk
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Heat a stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, garlic, ginger, onion, celery, and carrots. Sauté for 10 minutes. Add the curry, coriander, cumin, red pepper flakes, stock, and sherry. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 35 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the honey, coconut milk, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Puree the soup in the pot using a hand blender or working in batches with a regular blender until smooth. Add more honey if you like a sweeter soup.

Makes 10 to 12 servings.