Carrot and coriander soup

Just saw the entry over at Nupur's One Hot stove for ARF/5-a-day Tuesday#2 hosted by Sweetnicks and decided to make my entry as well. I dont usually have the opportunity (or the imagination) to take part in the various competitions that come along, but this one seemed rather easy. PLUS, I was going to make carrot and coriander soup anyway! :)

Why carrot and coriander soup? Because I had 250gm of Chantenay carrots that needed using up, ditto a bunch of wilting coriander. Yep, that's the other reason - because the ingredients were going waste. I guess it's as good a reason as any to cook up something.

I've not made carrot & coriander soup before, although I've had it once or twice. I'm not crazy about carrots unless they are raw - either eaten as is, or in a salad - and I absolutely dont like them boiled or roasted. So the first time I had carrot-coriander soup, it was quite a revelation... not too "boiled carroty", beautifully savoury, with a touch of sweetness that probably came from the carrots. Maybe it was just the recipe used by that particular chef, I dunno. Still, I decided to give it a go and make it myself - and the end result, although it didnt taste like that unknown chef's, was pretty good. The soup, with a loaf of store-bought crusty French boule, made a very nice light supper.

Recipe for: Carrot and coriander soup



Ingredients:

4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks
1 bay leaf
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tbsp chopped shallots (optional)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bunch coriander, cleaned and chopped (about a cupful). Reserve a tbsp of the stems.
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp butter + 1 tsp oil
Salt to taste
4 cups water, or as required
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder, for garnish
A few coriander leaves, for garnish

Method:

1. Heat the butter in a saucepan and add the bay leaf and peppercorns for 30 seconds.

2. Add the onions and garlic and fry till the onions turn translucent. Then add the carrots, coriander stems and water.

3. Cook the carrots until soft, then remove, cool and puree in a blender along with the coriander leaves.

4. You should have about 2 cups of stock now. Strain the stock to remove the peppercorns and bay leaf.

5. Add the stock and the milk to the puree, until the soup is the consistency you want. Bring to a boil again.

6. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Sprinkle the cinnamon powder decoratively over the top of the soup and garnish with coriander leaves.

7. Serve hot with fresh crusty bread.