It was a
no-brainer but what on earth to do with the 2.5kg of carrots left over.
They’ve been
cut into sticks and used to transport Hummus and Melitzanosalata (Roasted Aubergine Dip) to my mouth.
They’ve been
made into veggie samosas.
They’ve been
shredded into a carrot and orange salad.
They’ve been
roasted along with a Piri Piri / Peri Peri / Pili Pili chicken.
They’ve been
made into Spiced Carrot and Walnut Cake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting.
Oddly enough, I’m not sick of carrots yet but boy is my eyesight super sharp this week and I swear my ears are longer and kinda floppy. I’ve used up
the last of the carrots in this lightly spiced carrot soup – a bowl of liquid sunshine and a lovely light meal for the dog days of
summer.
For 4 – 6 servings of
'sunny as a bowl of sunshine' carrot soup you will need...
1 teaspoon coriander seed
½ teaspoon cumin seed
3 green cardamom pods
2
tablespoons of olive oil or butter
1 stick of
celery, peeled of stringy bits and roughly chopped
2 medium
onions, roughly chopped
750g
carrots, skinned and sliced or diced
1 litre of
chicken stock (or vegetable stock to keep it vegetarian)
½ teaspoon
fine table salt*
¼ teaspoon
ground white pepper
First, toast
the coriander seed, cumin seed and cardamom by placing them in a dry frying pan
over a medium heat, swirling them around the pan to toast them evenly and to
keep them from burning. This will only take a couple of minutes so don’t leave
them unattended. They are done when the colour deepens slightly and they begin
to smell toasty and spicy. Take them off the heat and transfer them to a bowl (or mortar) to prevent them from cooking further. Remove
the cardamom seeds from their pods, discarding the pods.  |
| Transfer the toasted spices to a bowl (or mortar, as in the photo) |
When they have cooled, crush all
three spices to a coarse powder using a pestle and mortar or a spice grinder if
you have one, or you could put them on a chopping board and roll over them with
a rolling pin.
Next, heat
the olive oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Add the celery, onions
and carrots and stir to coat with the oil. Turn down the heat to the gentlest
of sizzles and cover the pan with a lid. Let the vegetables ‘sweat’ gently for
about 10 minutes. You are not looking to brown them.
Add the toasted,
crushed spices, stock and salt and pepper to the saucepan. Cover and simmer for
about 15 minutes or until the carrots are soft. Remove from the heat and puree
to a smooth cream (a stick blender is ideal for this job).
Taste and
adjust the seasoning if necessary.
 |
| The well-mannered, posed picture... |
I served it
with a swirl of crème fraîche and a handful of fresh coriander leaf but
parsley, basil or chives are also good.
 |
Moments later - have I mentioned my coriander addiction...
(tho' basil, chives, parsley or chervil are all equally good with this soup)
|
* If your stock is already quite
salty, hold off on adding any salt until you’ve tasted the pureed soup as it
may not need it.
 |
| Schlurp! That's all folks! |