Carrot Coriander Soup

I had a batch of lovely carrots in the fridge (the real cartoon rabbit kind with the greens still on) and I was trying to decide what I would do with them.

Maybe a fresh coleslaw, or throw them into a veggie chili, or maybe just eat them whole as a snack (rabbit style).

But when I pulled them out and realized they were so soft I could bend them in half and they wouldn’t break, the decision was made: soup it is.

This recipe is equal parts easy and delicious. Perfect for making on Sunday to enjoy for lunch the rest of the week. It serves about 4, so you could easily double up the recipe to make a nice big batch.

Ingredients

• 1 pound carrots (450 grams), scrubbed & chopped
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 litre vegetable or chicken stock
• Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
• Juice from half a lemon
• Freshly grated nutmeg to taste
• Salt & pepper
• Glug of olive oil
• Optional: Drizzle of cream to finish

Method

Put a big pan over medium heat with a glug of olive oil. Chop up your carrots and onions and throw them in when the pan is nice and hot, along with your crushed garlic.

I’m a firm believer in just giving your carrots a good scrub so you don’t have to peel the skin off.

All the vitamins are closest to the skin, and you’ll be blending it all up anyway so you’ll never know the difference. Plus I’m lazy so this works in my favour.

While your carrots and onions are cooking, bash up your coriander seeds in a mortar and pestle, or you can just buy ground coriander and save yourself the trouble.

While I am lazy, I do love using a mortar and pestle. It feels really old fashioned and kind of makes me feel like I’m a witch mixing up a potion.

Kind of like in grade 6 when my friend and I decided we were witches after watching The Craft (GOOD movie), so we went out and bought ourselves ugly black boots from Value Village and candles and incense and Wiccan books.

But then we read a few spells and realized they were quite involved and pretty far out of our comfort zone (naked chants under the moonlight, animal sacrifices, etc). So we opted out of the practice and just stuck to the occasional Friday night Ouija board session.

Lesson? Don’t get carried away with the old fashioned romance of mortar and pestle. Grinding up spices is a lot less messy than frogs eyes.

Add the ground coriander seeds to your carrots and let them cook until they begin to soften, but not darken too much in colour.

Add your chicken or vegetable stock and pop the lid on for 25 minutes, until the carrots are very tender.

Take the lid off and test the carrots. Keep in mind you’ll be blending this up, so you want them nice and soft. Throw in your chopped cilantro and stir together for another minute.

Once again, I’m a walking advertisement for the Magic Bullet. Obviously this little guy is little after all, so I had to blend it up in a few batches.

But let’s be honest, a food processor would work much better. (It feels like such a grown up kitchen appliance! One day I’ll grow up and buy one.)

Mix your blended soup over low heat for a few minutes, adding the juice of half a lemon, and some grated nutmeg.

For a little decadence, mix a drizzle of whipping cream into your bowl and finish with some salt and cracked pepper.

Enjoy it while it’s hot with a  piece of well buttered toast for dunking.