Carrot soup

I say ‘carrot soup’ but really this could be any root veg soup. But seriously this is the easiest thing in the world to make. If you can cut with a knife you can make this soup.

Pimped up carrot soup

Before you start I should fess up. It’s not strictly a carrot soup, as I add some lentils to it – to give it a bit of body and also add some protein. If you want to omit the lentils do, and it will be ready much quicker too. But I’d be tempted to throw in a wee sprinkle of flour and mix it in before adding the water, to thicken it slightly.

Carrot soup

• 1 large onion, chopped as best you can
• about 6 medium/large carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks
• a dash of oil
• 1tsp or so ground coriander
• about 1/3 cup red lentils
• 1 Knorr chicken stock cube

1. Using a heavy bottomed pan, splash the oil into the bottom of the pan and ‘sweat’ the onion and carrots over a gentle heat.
2. At this point you should put a kettle full of water on to boil
3. Add the coriander, the lentils and the stock cube and continue to cook for a few minutes, stirring well to prevent it burning or sticking to the bottom of the pan
4. Pour the kettleful of water into the pan, and bring to a simmering boil
5. Simmer for about 45 minutes
6. Pour into a liquidiser and zizz it up till it’s beautifully smooth
7. Serve – feel free to glamorise it with some yoghurt and/or a sprinkle of parsley. Or croutons. I’ll tell you about my croutons another day.

There are lots of ways to play about with the recipe – grate some orange zest and squeeze some orange juice into it; add some harissa paste; add other root veg – parsnips and turnip would work well.

And of course you can use this same basic principle, of sweating veg then adding liquid to make all manner of other soups – swap out the onion and carrot for leeks and potatoes, or keep the onions and use butternut squash instead of carrots.

Tags: quick supper, recipe, soup, vegetarian, Weight loss