This is a light, refreshing soup based on a vegetable broth for which the ingredients are almost always on hand. I like serving it as a first course though it works equally well for lunch or as a light supper. Grating the vegetables on the large holes of a box grater was one of my mother’s tricks. It makes fast work of prep and the small pieces quickly flavor the broth.
Shred the carrots on the teardrop holes of a box grater.
Shred the celery on the teardrop holes of a box grater.
Thinly slice half an onion.
Combine carrots, celery, sliced onion, 2 teaspoons of salt, ½ teaspoon of black pepper and 2 quarts of water in a stock pot. Cover. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
Add the caraway seeds. Cover and simmer another 25 minutes.
Strain the broth. Discard the solids.
Return the broth to the stock pot. The soup can be made several hours ahead to this point.
When your ready to finish the soup, return the broth to a bare simmer.
In a heavy-bottomed stock pot large enough to hold the soup, sauté the minced onion in butter until soft but not brown, about 3-4 minutes.
Add the flour to the sautéed onions and cook until lightly colored, about 2 minutes, stirring almost constantly.
Stir the hot broth into the onion-flour mixture a ladleful at a time, stirring well while adding the broth to avoid lumps.
After about one-third of the broth has been added, the remainder can be added all at once.
Bring to a boil and boil gently for 1-2 minutes to thicken. Adjust salt and pepper.
While the soup is boiling, beat the eggs with 1/3 cup of water. Season the eggs with salt.
While constantly whisking the stock, drizzle in the eggs to create shreds of egg.