Carrot and Coriander Soup

Carrot and coriander soup is one of the most delicious and easy soups to make. This is my favourite recipe for carrot and coriander soup. The sweetness of the carrots tastes lovely with the warm spiciness of the coriander.  Eat it with naan bread as a special treat…

Ingredients

1 tablespoon of oil - sunflower oil is best, it has no strong flavour
1 medium sized onion
1 teaspoon of ground coriander
1 large potato, peeled
4 large carrots
1.2 litres of stock - use 1 and a half chicken or vegetable stock cubes (beef stock cubes are a bit too strong for this recipe).
A bunch of fresh coriander leaves (don’t worry if you don’t have these, though the fresh coriander gives the soup a more delicate, sophisticated taste.)

Equipment

A large pan
A chopping board & a sharp knife
A peeler
A wooden spoon
A measuring jug
A blender, or a sieve

How to make your Carrot and Coriander Soup

1. As always, prepare the vegetables first.   Chop the onions.  As with many soups, it doesn’t matter if the chopped onions are different sizes as you are going to blend them later.

2. Prepare the carrots.  Chop them into chunks, no bigger that a centimetre thick.

3. Prepare the potato, and chop into medium sized chunks, a bit bigger than the carrots.

4. Heat the oil in the big pan over a medium heat.  Add the onions, and gently fry until they begin to soften.  (It usually takes 3 or 4 minutes). It is very important that you don’t let them burn.  Burnt bits would add a bitter flavour to your soup that you don’t want!

5. Once the onions are beginning to soften, sprinkle the ground coriander over the top and stir in.  Let it cook for another minute.  Cooking the spice in this way gives it a better flavour.

6. Add the stock, and add the carrots and potatoes.  Give the soup a stir, so the onions are not caught on the bottom of the pan.

7. Turn the heat up to bring the soup to the boil.  Once the soup is properly bubbling, turn the heat down again so it is just simmering (only tiny bubbles around the pan).

8. Allow the mixture to simmer for about 20 minutes.  The soup is ready when the potatoes and carrots are cooked through.  Poke one of the larger pieces of carrot and a piece of potato with a knife.  If the knife sticks in easily, the soup is ready.

9. If you have fresh coriander, add it to the soup now.  It doesn’t have to be chopped.

10. Blend the soup – beware that it is very hot and you may need an adult to help.  With a stick blender or liquidiser, whizz the soup until is fairly smooth.  Alternatively, use a sieve – wait for the mixture to cool and use a wooden spoon to push through the lumpy bits.  It’ll take a little while, but you will have the smoothest soup of all!

11. Finally, heat your finished carrot and coriander soup up again, so it’s nice and hot.  Taste it.  Do you need to add some pepper?  This is your soup, so you decide!

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Other Soup-er Recipes

Easy Minestrone
Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup
Potato and Leek Soup

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