Florence Fabricant's Moroccan Carrot Soup with Mussels

I know, I know, I just got back from Paris. The traveling itch should be scratched. But I can't help it. I'm already thinking about the next thing I'd like to do, which is go to Morocco. Morocco! Land of couscous and camels and souks and deserts. I have sand in my shoes, I guess. But it's not my fault. I'm blaming it all on this soup.

This soup! So unassuming. So simple. And yet. With just one spoonful, something steals over you. A strange and piercing Wanderlust, almost impossible to battle with. You close your eyes and as you eat, you feel yourself transported to a cool, tiled courtyard, with a tiny fountain babbling quietly and the scent of rose petals in the air. It was all I could do, once my spoon scraped the bottom of my bowl, to keep myself from booking a flight, right then and there, to Morocco.

I don't know about you, but I find this happens often with Moroccan food. Good Moroccan food, I guess I should say. There's something transporting about it. It's familiar, in a way: the ingredients seem regular enough. But there's always something a little exotic about the combination of spices or flavorings that makes me feel like I'm having the most special meal. I can't really explain it any better than that. Call me bewitched.

The recipe comes from Florence Fabricant's Pairings column (which I'm having success after success with, deliciously) and is as close to fast food as fine home cooking gets. Cheap? Check. Speedy? Check. Delicious? Oh, ho ho ho. Check.

All you have to is whip up a simple soup (fry an onion and cumin in olive oil, add a bunch of peeled, chunked carrots, boil, puree, done). Then you purée that into a smooth soup, and add fresh lemon juice. The lemon juice truly is an Oscar-winning supporting actor here. Without its bright acidity, the soup would meander off into rather boring territory. If you wanted to stop cooking here, you could. All you'd need to do is fold in the chopped cilantro, drizzle over a bit of olive oil and you'd be done. Served hot or cold, the soup is a minimalist triumph.

If you find you need a little something something in your soups in order to be happy, quickly steam some mussels. Strain their fragrant juice into the soup, and mix the shucked mussels - plump and sweet and only $5.99 for 2 whole pounds at Whole Foods right now - with the cilantro and olive oil. A spoonful of these at the bottom of each soup plate, surrounded then by the carrot soup, is quite something.

I can already tell that the carrot soup (without the mussels) is going to be a regular in my kitchen. Which makes me wonder at how far I've come. Just a few years ago this post would have been filled with whinging about how the cilantro was a nightmare and how I simply had to replace it with flat-leaf parsley. Not anymore. Florence is right: you can make this soup without the mussels, but you cannot make it without the cilantro. The alchemy of the sweet carrots, bright lemon juice, cumin and cilantro is truly magical: as you eat, you taste all these things and more: flowers, earth, cross my heart.

Cilantro-haters, don't fear. If I could become a convert, I who used to compare that green stuff to rat poison, so can you. All it took for me was one trip to Mexico. Maybe all you need is a trip to Morocco. If so, can you let me know? I want to come, too.

Moroccan Carrot Soup with Mussels
Serves 6 as a first course

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 bunches carrots, peeled, in 1-inch pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
1 pound mussels, scrubbed
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro leaves

1. Heat 1/2 tablespoon oil in a 3-quart saucepan. Add onion. Cook over low heat until starting to soften. Stir in cumin, cook briefly, stirring. Add carrots and 6 cups water. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer, covered, until carrots are very tender, about 20 minutes. Cool briefly. Purée in a blender in two batches. Return soup to saucepan, season with salt and pepper and add lemon juice. Set aside until shortly before serving.

2. Place mussels in a shallow 2-quart saucepan or sauté pan. Add 1/2 tablespoon oil, toss over high heat about a minute, reduce heat to low, cover and cook until mussels open, 7 to 8 minutes. Remove mussels, draining well so juices stay in pan. Discard any that do not open. When mussels are cool enough to handle, shuck them into a bowl, discard shells and toss mussels with remaining oil and the cilantro. Strain mussel broth and add to soup.

3. Reheat soup. To serve, place a few mussels in each of 6 warm soup plates. Serve plates to guests. Ladle soup over mussels at the table. If not using mussels, fold cilantro into soup, ladle soup into bowls and drizzle each portion with remaining oil.

Comments

[maggie (p&c)]

When you said you were making carrot soup, I assumed I'd be able to avoid bookmarking. But now I'm all transported and craving mussel liquor and carrot velvet and cumin...yum.

[Adrienne]

Oooh, mussels are decidedly in fancypants territory for me (all that scrubbing and shucking and prep work), but this looks stunning. I feel the same way about good Moroccan food, it really can be transporting. Morocco's been on my list of places I probably won't get to but really want to go for years, and whenever I feel particularly bored with my current location I made a chickpea stew with spinach and cumin. Next time, I'll try carrots.

[Christine]

Oh wow. yum.

[Shauna]

In a couple of days, we're moving to one of the foggier parts of San Francisco, and to make it a little easier, I'm stockpiling soup recipes. Add to that the fact that I can't seem to get enough cumin lately--bookmarked!

[SB in SB]

i'm heading to the grocery store now to pick up these ingredients. can't wait to taste it!

[jenny]

beautiful post, luisa! but the thing that really got me going is when you said you're a cilantro convert. really??? I would do anything--well, almost anything--to get myself to like the stuff. so I am encouraged by your conversion and also by the fact that I recently had a curry with shrimp and I realized, only too late, that one delicious bite had been corrupted by a piece of cilantro that had become lodged in the crook of the shrimp. except, it wasn't corrupted, because the combo of curry, sweet shrimp, and green, biting cilantro actually tasted surprisingly ... good. perhaps I, too, am on my way ...

[A Mouse Bouche]

Is it weird that I find this soup sexy? (smooth and exotic: two very good qualities in a date.)

[Monica]

Yes yes yes! Go to Morocco! and then write to us about it.

This looks spectacular--just the inspiration I needed for the carrots sitting patiently in my fridge. And the mussels will add some glamor. Thanks!

[[eatingclub] vancouver]

What an intriguing combination: carrot soup and mussels! Something I must try very soon. Oh, and after reading this, I am tempted to make carrot soup (even without the mussels). Want to taste that delicious alchemy you speak of.

[The Food Hunter]

Seriously I want this right now. It looks so good.

[Sylvie]

That's a combination I would have never thought of, but now that you have mentioned it I'm sure I won't stop thinking about it until I have tried it.

[laura]

That sounds scrumptious!

[http://greentahina.blogspot.com/]

For me, everything looks really good, Except for the mussels........I'm Kosher....

For those who Keep Kosher the mussel is to much of an exposure......

Can u recommend a substitute

[meleyna]

Oh carrot soup. I never thought I could love a pureed vegetable so much. I am quite enamored with the version I make (http://makingitwithmeleyna.com/?p=201), but this looks fantastic. And mussels? You've got me craving them now. I'm incredibly considerate and won't order them while out due to my boyfriend fish aversion, but he's out of town this week, so it looks like I'll be in shellfish heaven at home while he's gone.

[Kara]

I love anything Moroccan (at least that I've tasted so far), LOVE cilantro, and happen to have everything for this on hand (including a half bunch of cilantro sadly going to waste after making a Mexican dish last week), so i'm thinking: dinner tonight! But, at the risk of sounding ridiculous, can you help me out with the measurement on the carrots? I'm not sure I know what exactly one bunch of carrots is. . .can you give me an alternate measure for two bunches? i.e. the number of medium carrots or how many cups when they're cubed. . . Thanks!

[Luisa]

Maggie - I reeled you in! :)

Adrienne - nowadays you should be able to buy mussels that have already been debearded and scrubbed, so all you have to do is rinse and throw them in a pot. Shucking is a piece of cake.

Jenny - that's this spirit! I'd say you're on your way. For me, the conversion started while eating a taco in Baja 1.5 years ago...

A Mouse Bouche - not weird at all.

Green Tahina - just leave the mussels out. The soup is delicious on its own.

Kara - you know, at the grocery store, I just grabbed the carrots that were bundled together. It's a pretty rough estimate, but I think there were about 10 thin carrots in the bunch. Don't worry about this too much, though - a few carrots more or less won't really affect the outcome.

[The Leftoverist]

I love your site so much and am just now commenting. I have a bunch of on-the-brink carrots in my fridge and was just going to make a coconut milk ginger soup with them. I have now totally scratched that plan.

[Emily]

This sounds fantastic! One question -- you say two bunches of carrots, but I have no idea how big of a bunch you mean. Any way to either give us a sense of how many carrots, or give us a sense of how this compares to a 1 or 2 pound bag of carrots?

[Emily]

Ooops - Just saw your response to Kara. Sorry -- ignore my previous email!

[Paul]

Been in Morocco for 4 years, traveled the country widely, eaten with many people and at many eateries.....never ever seen this in morocco.

for one, the average moroccan family would not be able to afford mussels.

[Jess]

This recipe screams yumminess. I usually think of pureed root-y soups as fall and winter fare, but with the cilantro and the citrus, this one has spring written all over it. For the commenter, above, who asks for a mussels substitution: I wonder if sautéed mushrooms - shitakes or chanterelles? - might work... Or, as you say, Luisa, the soup looks plenty perfect all on its own.

[Giff]

once again you have chosen a dish that I simply must try. sounds and looks delicious. I normally just steam my mussels with wine and various veggies, but this is great.

[Kate]

just made it, absolutely fantastic! it was the perfect way to use up all of the ingredients i had that were about to wilt in my fridge. made it without the mussels and with a 1lb bag of carrots. i think that next time i will use more carrots (maybe 1.5 lb), an extra .5tsp of cumin, and maybe some minced jalapeno. i think it just needs something else, but not much.

[Gemma]

Yum. This looks delicious. I have also learned to love fresh coriander (cilantro). Used to avoid it then got used to adding it to keema and now am happy to strew recklessly on top of a finished dish. Now if only I could break my dislike of raw tomatoes and raspberries...

[Ben]

I'm going to attmept this over the weekend, bookmarked 3 of your posts today :)

[Sigari]

Thanks for the Whole Foods mussel price tip; otherwise, I would have avoided this dish b/c I suspected it being beyond our budget.
And, oooh, Morocco! You've read Paul Bowles, yes?

Kate at 1:11am--try pimenton/smoked paprika, maybe? I think jalapeno would be too bright for this. Go for something smokey or roasted to add depth, warmth, not punchiness.
(Darn, now that makes me think to roast the veggies, then proceed.)

[Laurian]

I am assuming you have never actually eaten in morrocco, because if you have you will reaise that unless you are very, very, very lucky, and get to eat at someones house, all you will get is tagine, tagine, brochette avec frites, tomato salad, tagine, tagine, tomato salad, frites, tagine...i think you get my point. Also, if you ate mussels there you would be in hospital for a month. However, i have to say the recipe looks gorgeous.

[Rahel]

This is gorgeous, and the perfect solution to the bag of carrots in my fridge. I love a bright soup like this, even in summer. And for once, I actually have all the ingredients in my kitchen already! (Like Green Tahina, I'll be making it without the mussels)

[Hannah]

I think Moroccan wanderlust must be catching, I just wrote a long post about how desperately I want to get myself there. This soup will have to do for now.

[Chelsea]

I often roast carrots with Moroccan spices. The sweet, earthy carrots just complement those spices so beautifully. This soup sounds lovely!

[Luisa]

Sigari - I haven't yet, but The Sheltering Sky is on my list of must-buy-then-reads.

[Grace F]

I sure hope I am "transported" when I try this! I'll probably substitute clams for the mussels though. They are a little easier to find.

[christy]

yum, i will be making this tonight sans mussels. thanks!

[Tonya @ What's On My Plate]

totally interesting. i always have carrots on hand. mussels are an interesting addition...

[Caitlin]

Can you recommend a good place in NYC for Moroccan food? I'm dying to try it, especially after your post!

[gastroanthropologist]

That's the best thing about food - you can sort of travel even if you can't for whatever reason. I might have to wait to try this out - my veg box is coming without carrots this week - the one week I really want them! Such is life.

[samira]

delurking to say, first of I love your blog and can't wait to hear about your trip to morocco I'm moroccan and to be honest I can't reconmend any places to eat because, if we travel to morocco (born and raised in Europe) we always eat at home. It's the best. By the way spring is the best time to visit morocco. O my now I want to go! What city (cities) are you visiting?

[Siren]

I can smell it now, you have described it so vividly . . . this recipe belongs in my kitchen . . . delicioso!!

[Honeybee]

I hope that I, too, can overcome my dislike for cilantro. Sometimes I almost like it in thai food and then on other days I can't face it at all. Weird. But you give me hope...

[unconfidentialcook.com]

The food in Morocco is beyond fabulous--you will love it! And I love the addition of mussels here.

[Christian Rhein]

I love that combination of mussels and carrot and although I have not made that particular soup can very well imagine the flavour and taste. Carrot (earth) and mussles (sea) as opposites seem to work very well together. Another good combinations is scallops and carrot puree. Great site.

[moonvirgo]

I made this Saturday night as part of my girl-friend time while the dh was away doing his guy-friend thing and it was by far the best dinner my gf's and I have ever made. It was truly gourmet without being overly expensive or too rich in taste. We thought it needed some bite as well and thought chili powder or paprika would compliment the cumin. The lemon rounded out the palate perfectly and we added some ginger too. We've made mussels many times together the "old-fashioned" way with wine and garlic -- we thought a bit of white wine might work well here too -- but this recipe just took it to a whole new dimension. Very creative. Awesome recipe. Thank you!

[LM]

That looks great. I can just about taste it. When I was growing up I always ate mussels boiled plain and dipped with butter, and that is my favorite way to eat them, but when I saw the pictures of the soup I could practically taste it.

[Someday]

Just found your blog and I think I am in love! With the recipes, the organization (an index!), and the beautiful writing... thank you!

[nora]

excellent photography! soup look amazing. cant wait to try it. m husband gonna love this m sure :) thank you for sharing..

[Sirena]

The pics, especially of the mussels, do look amazing! I'm tempted to try them but had one bad experience cooking mussels at home (I discarded all the closed ones, but still, we got sick!), so I have a pot on the stove simmering right now. I added a mellow-heated jalapeno to the mix because we love heat, and the house is filled with the scent of cumin and savory soup! Thanks for the inspiration, Luisa. Can't wait to try it!

[Jay Massey]

Wednesday Chef - addicted to your writing! I don't know how to get in touch apart from comments, apologies if inappropriate. First trip to NYC to two weeks' time, staying on Bowery - do you have any favourites in that part of town? Any advice much appreciated.

Jay (London)

[Jen]

Ooh, thank you for this alluring post! A dear friend speaks of Morocco quite often and I'm sending him a link to this recipe so we may share all this soup has to offer. I'm sure its essence will revive his wanderlust as well.

[Kris]

I just made this soup and it turned out well, but like a couple other readers have mentioned, I felt like it needed just a little something. I used chili oil at the end to spice it up rather than regular olive oil. I also threw in a little bit of sugar at the end to bring out the flavour of the carrots and contrast with the cumin/chili oil. The suggestion of Spanish paprika sounds good. But the basic carrot base can be played with a thousand different ways, and I'm sure I'll revisit this recipe again!

[greg]

This is an extremely lovely recipe. I have not made it yet, but I can tell by reading what a remarkable combination of flavors it has. I have only been blogging a few months. But am so amazed by all the great things out there. Thanks GREG (sippitysup)