Second Course - Soup

Creamy Coconut Carrot Soup

 

I found the recipe here.

I made a few modifications to the recipe, but stayed pretty close.  I cooked the carrot and onion mixture the day before, and pureed it.  I used chicken broth instead of the vegetable broth.  If you taste the soup at this point you may be disappointed.  I know I was!  But be patient.  Once you add the coconut milk, the heavens part and the angels sing!  But I added a little whipping cream for good measure.  Perfection!  For serving, I garnished the soup with some toasted coconut.  Aren’t my soup bowls lovely?

The wine paring for this course was the 2008 Pierre Sparr Pinot Gris Reserve.  

Everyone liked this wine, but I felt the curry in the soup overpowered the flavors a bit.  The color was lovely, golden yellow.  It was fun to compare it to the Willow Crest Pinot Gris served with the salad.  The Pierre Sparr was more complex, and the flavors more subtle, which I felt made it more interesting.  But the second Pinot Gris probably was a better pairing with the food.  It’s interesting how a wine can be good, but not good with the food you are serving.  Or, how a wine you may not like on its own is transcended by the food you serve it with.  This was an interesting wine, one I felt I needed more time to enjoy.  Rushing through my food in order to prepare the next course has its downside.

Next, on to the fish course.