Rye Bread and Carrot Soup

I've been thinking of Rye Bread a lot lately.  It's been on my mind for a couple of weeks now.  Luscious, dense, flavorful rye with lots of caraway seeds.  But, good rye bread takes time, you just can't rush into it.  So, I just kept thinking about it.

Yesterday, Super Bowl Sunday, a kind of lazy day, seemed like a good place to start. The recipe I like is for Naturally Leavened Rye Bread from Peter Reinhart's, Crust and Crumb; Master Formulas for Serious Bread Bakers. It's a two or three day process, depending on whether you already have a good sourdough starter living in your fridge.   While this recipe requires time, it is not complicated and produces everything one desires in a fabulous rye bread. As you can see, I made three smallish perfect loaves.  I only wish you could smell them. . . . .

So, what goes well with fresh rye?  After combing through Deborah Madison's, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone I decided on Carrot Soup with Onion Relish.  I served the Rye with a bit of double cream brie, followed by a salad of greens with apple, currants, celery and walnuts.  I can't wait for a lunch of leftovers tomorrow.

Carrot Soup with Onion Relish

2 TBS butter

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 pound carrots, thinly sliced

1 bay leaf

2 TBS chopped parsley

3 TBS white rice

1 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

salt and freshly milled pepper

7 cups water

In a soup pot, melt better.  Add onion, carrots, bay leaf, parsley, and rice; cook to soften onion, stirring frequently, about 5 min.  Add the spices, 1/2 tsp salt, and some pepper and cook 5 min. longer.  Add the water and bring to a boil.  Simmer, partially covered for 25 min.  Puree the soup.

While the soup is cooking, prepare the onion relish by mixing all the ingredients together:

1/3 cup finely chopped white onion

1 serrano chile, finely chopped

2 TBS chopped cilantro

grated zest and juice of 1 lime.

Taste for salt and serve each bowl with a spoonful of relish.

This is a great soup recipe. Do be sure to try the onion relish with it, the contrast of the lime juice, onion and bit of chile is a nice counterpoint to the sweetness of the carrots.

I'd be happy to share the bread recipe upon request.

Enjoy!

Now, what kind of jam goes best with rye bread?  I'll let you know tomorrow.