soup, soup, a tasty soup, soup, a spicy carrot and coriander....

With the man friend working away alot of the time, sometimes its difficult to summon up the gusto to really cook anything. Don't worry I'm not saying when he is away that I am alone in a rocking chair weeping with a cat on my knee and a vodka in my hand, nothing like that, it's just that I'm not going to roll out a banquet for one. So when I do make things they tend to be in bulk, sauces that I can add to meats and fish or lasagne's that I can do in industrial quantities and freeze up to be used as needed. Another thing that I've found is that I eat a lot of soup, it's easily frozen, easily defrosted and I don't ever think that you can feel bad when you have a warming bowl of soup in your belly. A classic favourite is Carrot and Coriander. This is my method and I think it's pretty foolproof. 

Carrot and Coriander Soup- Serves 4 greedily

• 1 large white onion
• 450g of carrots (organic if possible or homegrown would be the best! its the star of your recipe so splash out a little)
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 a frugal tsp of cumin seeds, crushed
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 pints of chicken or vegetable stock depending on your preference 
• bunch of fresh coriander
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme
• juice of 1 1/2 clementines 
• fresh grated nutmeg, about 2 tsp dependent on your taste
• salt and pepper to taste
• single cream to serve

1. chop the onion, garlic and carrot and soften in a little oil. add a pinch of salt as this helps to stop the onions and garlic from browning. you don't want any crispness to the onion at all, think soft, golden and yielding
2. add the ground coriander and the cumin seeds to the onions and coat the mixture then pour in your vegetable/chicken stock
3. stick a lid on your pan and let it simmer away for 20 minutes
4. while your soups bubbling away, chop about half of your bunch of fresh coriander and set aside
5. now your soups had 20 minutes remove the lid and add the fresh coriander, fresh thyme, the clementine juice and nutmeg 
6. then with a blender, either a freestanding one or I use a stick, pulverise your soup till it forms a think earthy orange brew
7. taste the soup and add salt and pepper to your preference
8. to serve generously spoon portions into warmed bowls and decorate with a swirl of single cream, a flourish of remaining corriander, a a pinch of pepper

   xoxoxox