Spicy Carrot Ginger Soup

I first had a version of this soup at a friend's house. They purchased the prepared soup at Whole Foods. It was delicious! A perfect way to start a meal.  I figured I had to make it myself so I found a recipe and tweaked it a bit. I also added some fun garnishes because I think not only do they make the soup more visually appealing, but they add more flavor and substance. 

Ingredients: 

-1 large yellow onion (or two small)

-8 cups of vegetable broth

-6 cloves of garlic

-2 lbs of carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

-2 medium yukon gold potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

-3 Tbsp of freshly grated ginger

-1 Tbsp. cumin

-1 tsp. cinnamon

-2 tsp. jalepeno powder (optional)

-2 Tbsp salt

-3 Tbsp sugar

-2 tsp lemon juice

Chop your 6 cloves of garlic and 1 large onion.  Peel the two medium yukon gold potatoes and 2 lbs of carrots.  Roughly chop the potatoes and carrots.  Also, peel the brown papery skin off the ginger root with the back of a spoon. Use a fine cheese grater or microplane to grate 3 Tbsp of ginger.

In a large stockpot, add 1/2 cup of the vegetable broth, garlic and onions.  Bring to a simmer for about 6 minutes.  Add the rest of the vegetable broth (7 1/2 more cups), carrots, potatoes, ginger, cumin, cinnamon, jalepeno powder, salt and sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 25 minutes or until the potatoes and carrots can be easily pierced with a knife. 

I use homemade vegetable bouillon with water as pictured below. 

 Working in batches if needed, puree the soup in a blender (ideally a Vitamix) or immersion blender.  The immersion blender will work, but a blender, specifically a Vitamix will make it much smoother. Add the soup back to the stock pot and add 2 Tbsp of lemon juice.  Stir into the soup until blended.

Optional garnishes: freshly chopped chives, toasted garbanzo beans/chickpeas, garlic oil, toasted pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds