Foodie Friday - Carrot and Coriander Soup

Given the amount of people that detest coriander on my twitter feed I'm not sure how popular this recipe is going to be ;) me though I love the stuff. I can understand to some degree where the haters are coming from, as the flavour can be quite overpowering when its used to excess, but use it cautiously and sensibly then it can add a lovely herb, citrus kick. This recipe uses two types of coriander - ground coriander from my spice rack, and a bunch of fresh, well nearly dead coriander from a pot on my window sill. You could use one or the other depending on what your have and your personal taste, I used a bit of both :) A couple of the ingredients in this soup are also optional - I popped in a couple of cloves of garlic just for a bit more of a savoury flavour, you don't need a lot because you don't want to detract from the sweet flavour of the soup. I also added a dash of milk, this was originally just to rinse out my blender but it gave a lovely creaminess to the soup

Carrot and Coriander Soup

A Drizzle Of Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Of Butter

2 Cloves Garlic Roughly Chopped Or Crushed - Optional

1 Bunch Fresh Coriander Roughly  Chopped

or /and

1 Teaspoon Ground Coriander

1 Onion Roughly Chopped

500g Carrots - Cubed or Roughly Chopped

Around 1 Litre Of Vegetable Stock

A Dash Of Milk

Salt And Pepper To Taste

1. Pop the butter and oil into a large saucepan (I'm using a large pressure cooker pan here). and add the garlic if using and the coriander, what ever form your using - cook over a low heat till the butter is melted and the garlic has softened.

2. Then add the chopped onion to the pan and cook until softened.

3. Whilst the onion is cooking, clean and  roughly chop your carrots your needn't be too precise but I tend to chop mine into cubes because the smaller the piece the quicker they cook :)

4. When the onion is soft and translucent, add the chopped carrots, and mix them in, and cook for about 10 minutes.

5. Then add the stock, I used two stock pots to make about a litre and bit, You need to make sure your vegetables are covered so feel free to add some more stock or more boiling water. Then cook over a medium heat for at least half an hour, you can actually leave it for as long as you like - I was busy so I left mine for about an hour and it was fine.

6. When the carrots and onions are soft, the soup is done you eat it as it is or you can blend it

7. I like a smoother soup so I popped mine in a blender, or you can use a hand blender. I had to blend mine in two batches, so I made the second batch a bit chunkier - so when I mixed it together there was a bit of texture. I rinsed my blender out with a little bit of milk, and added that to the soup to make it a bit creamier.

8. Finally return the soup to the pan to reheat and check the seasoning, you might need a bit of salt and pepper or even a little bit more coriander - then serve :) 

This soup might not be to everyone's taste but me and Mummy Lou love it. As with all soup recipes feel free to experiment and add what you have, and leave out what you don't, the coriander though is not optional in this soup :) Do you like coriander? come on guys I can't be the only ones that does - leave me a comment and let me know xx