Carrot peanut soup

This soup is awesome.  If you like things spicy, add some more chiles. The first time I served it I added *way* too much chile for my crowd – oops!  Since then I’ve mellowed it down a bit, and I serve minced chile peppers on the side for folks who want more kick.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 chile perrón (if you don’t have these, a serrano or a jalapeño would work fine), de-seeded and minced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 2 tablespoons oil (vegetable or olive, though peanut oil would probably be awesome – or sesame – but I can’t get those…)
• 10 carrots, chopped
• 2 potatoes, chopped
• 1 cup of peanuts, blended with 1 cup of water
• 1 handful of cilantro, chopped
• Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Sauté the chili, garlic, and ginger with the oil in a large pot for 5 minutes
2. Add carrots and potato. Cover with water.
3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes
4. In a food processor or a blender, puree the carrot mixture until smooth. Add water to get desired thickness.
5. Just before serving add salt, peanuts and cilantro.

Serves 4-6 for main course (add some nice bread!)

Serves 8 for first course