Slow Cooker Carrot & Apple Soup with Za’atar Croutons
Home cooks across Michigan love the great apples available in our state, perfect for cooking or eating on their own. Today, I’m guest posting for the Michigan Apples blog, sharing a recipe featuring Gala apples.
Slow cookers are known for one delicious service they provide: being able to fill the pot with ingredients, go to work for eight hours, and come home to a ready-to-serve meal. Unless . . . you work from home. And then, you fill the pot with ingredients, stay at home with it for eight hours as it smells progressively more and more amazing, and then text your husband to come home now so that you can eat right when the eight hour mark hits.
This Slow Cooker Carrot & Apple Soup kind of tortured me as it’s mouthwatering smells filled my home as I worked. The longer it cooked, the better it smelled. The combination of carrots, Michigan Gala apples, chicken stock and warming spices like cumin, cayenne and turmeric make this soup a savory and subtly sweet flavor explosion.
The Za’atar Croutons are totally optional, but totally encouraged. No, you can’t cook them in the slow cooker, but you CAN make them in less than 20 minutes as the soup finishes it’s cook time. Use any crusty bread that you have on hand (I used ciabatta), toss it with olive oil and za’atar, and bake until crispy.
Za’atar is a spice and seed blend popular in the Middle East. You can make it yourself or buy a pre-made blend. The blend I purchased is simply a mixture of crushed sumac, thyme leaves, salt and sesame seeds. If you can’t find or make za’atar, feel free to season your croutons with just sesame seeds and salt.
Be sure to try this recipe while Michigan Gala apples are at their peak. Their mellow sweetness and crisp bite make them a great ingredient for savory recipes! To find out more about Michigan Apples, be sure to connect with them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.
Slow Cooker Carrot & Apple Soup with Za'atar Croutons
Ingredients
For the Slow Cooker Carrot & Apple Soup:
For the Za'atar Croutons:
For Garnish:
Instructions
Gorgeous and mouthwatering pictures. Love the rich color and creamy texture of the soup. Zaatar seasoned croutons… now that’s interesting! I like adding zaatar to pita, flatbreads, raw veggies and marinades, but have never really tried this. And love the carrot-apple soup Good quality Za’atar does add a punch to any dish, but only if it is a quality zaatar as you mentioned.
I never leave comments but had to on this one. Such a great soup. So easy. Great depth of flavor. Entire family loved it. Did you create it?
I am so glad to hear that, Anna! And yes, with very rare exception, all recipes on this site are developed, tested, styled and photographed by me 🙂