Chilled Young Carrot Soup with Clotted Cream, Pistachios, and Mint

• Clotted Cream:

• 1 1/2 cups pasteurized heavy cream (not ultra-pasteurized)
• 1/2 cup of buttermilk

• Carrot Soup:

• 3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch rounds
• 2 1/2 cups carrot juice, divided
• 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon honey
• Pinch curry powder
• Pinch ground coriander
• Pinch ground cumin
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Leaves from 2 sprigs fresh mint, divided
• Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
• 3 tablespoons fine domestic olive oil
• 2 tablespoons toasted chopped pistachios

To make the clotted cream, combine the cream and buttermilk in a mason jar or container with a tight-fitting lid. Let stand at room temperature until the mixture has thickened to the consistency of softly whipped cream. (This takes anywhere from 12 to 24 hours.) Refrigerate; it will continue to thicken as it chills.

To make the soup, put the carrots, 1 1/4 cups of the carrot juice, butter, honey, curry powder, coriander, and cumin into a medium pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the liquid has evaporated and the carrots are very soft, about 1 hour. Add cream, increase heat to medium, and simmer for 3 minutes.

Transfer the carrots to a blender. Add the remaining 1 1/4 cups carrot juice and half of the mint leaves and purée until smooth. soup through a fine sieve into a medium bowl and season to taste with salt and white pepper. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.

To serve, ladle a portion of the chilled carrot soup into a bowl. Place a spoonful of the homemade clotted cream on top of the soup. Sprinkle the soup with the chopped pistachios, torn mint leaves, and a drizzle of olive oil.