It’s three days before I fly to Chicago for the holidays, and I’m on a mission to use up everything in my fridge so I don’t have to throw anything away. I’m down to the tricky vegetables: swede, beetroot and a mountain of carrots.
Some of the carrots (along with a cucumber and some cauliflower) are going into a Piccalilli. The rest I turned into this soup, an obvious riff on the classic carrot and coriander soup. But you know what – I think I prefer this version with a bit of swede added to the mix. It tones down the sweetness of the carrots and works very well with the flavour of ground coriander. I stole the creme fraiche idea from Delia (good old Delia). It’s a keeper.
This recipe got me through all of my carrots and half a swede. Tonight, I tackle the beetroot.
Adapted from Delia’s recipe for carrot and coriander soup. There are no hard and fast rules on the proportion of carrots and swede to use – just go with whatever’s convenient. I used roughly 600g swede and 300g carrots for this.
Ingredients
- 2 lb (900 g) carrots and swede, peeled and chopped
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 oz (25 g) butter
- 1 small clove garlic, crushed
- 2 pints (1.2 litres) vegetable stock
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander, plus 6 small sprigs, to garnish
- 3 tablespoons crème fraîche
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
- Dry-roast the coriander seeds in a small frying pan over a medium heat, stirring and tossing them around for 1-2 minutes, or until they begin to look toasted and start to jump in the pan. Tip them into a pestle and mortar and crush them coarsely.
- Heat the butter in a large saucepan, then add the chopped carrots and swede, garlic and three-quarters of the crushed coriander seeds. Stir the vegetables in the butter and crushed seeds, then cover the pan and let them cook over a gentle heat until they are beginning to soften – about 10 minutes.
- Add the stock and season with salt and pepper and bring everything up to the boil.
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer for a further 15-20 minutes, partially covered, or until all the vegetables are tender.
- Leave the soup to cool a little, then liquidise the whole lot in batches. Return the purée to the pan and stir in the chopped fresh coriander and 2 tablespoons of the crème fraîche.
- Re-heat the soup, then taste to check the seasoning and serve in warmed bowls and garnish each one with a swirl of crème fraîche, a sprinkling of the remaining toasted coriander seeds and a sprig of fresh coriander.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Per serving: 163 Calories | 8.2 grams Fat | 21.3 grams Carbohydrates | 3.6 grams Protein | 6.0 grams Fiber
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