carrot & coriander soup with a dash of cumin and orange

This is a dead easy recipe to make using inexpensive and every-day ingredients, and is exactly the type of meal I crave as we head into the throws of full blown winter.

I consider myself extremely lucky that I get to experience food at the top end of the culinary spectrum on a regular basis. I love eating meals that are inspired, interesting and created by chefs who dedicate their life and career to the craft of cooking. I am frequently spoiled with opportunities that I would not ordinarily have if it wasn’t for Drizzle and Dip.

I do however appreciate basic meals. Food that is inexpensive, simple and nutritious and I’m mad about all kinds of vegetables (except brussels sprouts). Last year I got a bit carried away with the humble beetroot and decided to pickle it, make it into a risotto with barley, roast it with dukkha and add it to a vegetable juice with carrot, apple and ginger.

In this short instructional video on the Woolworths Pantry website you will see Hannah Lewry from Taste magazine make a delectable pie out of another everyday root vegetable, the butternut. Simply covered in phyllo pastry and baked, I love the look of this.

When it comes to carrots I love them roasted or grilled. The heat brings out the sugars in them giving them a delicious taste. I seemed to have a ton of them around after developing a vegetarian burger for a client, so made this soup with the bits and bobs I had lying around.

I added the orange zest which gave this soup a little wake up call, but you could leave this out.

• 1 cup of chopped onions
• 1 celery stalk chopped
• olive oil to cook
• 3 cups of grated carrots
• 1T chopped parsley
• 3 cups of vegetable stock (or chicken stock)
• 1T chopped fresh coriander
• 1/2 t dried coriander
• 3/4 t cumin
• zest of 1/4 – 1/2 an orange
• salt and pepper to taste
• cream to garnish (optional)
• extra chopped coriander to garnish optional

Heat olive oil in a large pot and fry the onions and celery until soft. Add the grated carrot and cook until the carrots soften. Add the stock, herbs and spices and cook on a gentle simmer for about 30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly and then using a stick immersion blender, process the soup until smooth. Adjust the seasoning (it needs a fair amount of salt), add the zest and serve with a swirl of fresh cream and a sprinkle of chopped coriander.

Like with all soup, its just not he same without warm crusty bread or toast served on the side for dunking.