Herbed Carrot Soup

2 pounds (1 kg) carrots, chopped
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 Tbsp (60 mL) butter
6 cups (1.5 L) vegetable or herb bouillon
a bouquet garni consisting of 6 sprigs of fresh parsley, 3 thyme sprigs or one tsp (5 mL) of dried thyme and 6 black peppercorns
freshly grated mace or nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

In a good-sized soup pot, saut?he onion and garlic in the butter until soft. Start with the onion and add the garlic after a couple of minutes. Add the stock and the carrots and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the bouquet garni and continue to simmer for another 20 minutes. Carrots are the one vegetable that becomes more nutritious with cooking as the vitamin-A-rich fibre is thus broken down and more easily absorbed by the body. Remove the bouquet garni, allow the soup to cool and put it through the blender in batches. Reheat the soup over a low heat while adding the nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Serve with some fresh, home-made bread and garnish with some fresh parsley and a little chopped fresh thyme if this is still available.

Source: alive #212, June 2000