When the days are short and the nights are cold, it's easy to reach for stodgy comfort food to fend off the winter chills, but all those potatoes and pies can leave you feeling sluggish.
Why not brighten up the winter days with a bowl of sunshine instead? This healthy, warming and delicious carrot soup recipe is sure to delight your taste buds and lift your spirits with its winning combination of seasonal British vegetables and Eastern flavours. (And you won't even notice how low in fat it is!)
The spice mix used in this carrot soup recipe is a Malaysian-style satay seasoning mix. If you can't find that or something similar, you could experiment with other spice mixes. Perhaps heat things up with Moroccan harissa, add a taste of the exotic with a Thai curry paste, or get fired up with fresh chiles and a generous amount of smoked paprika, and swap the lime juice for lemon juice.
You might think it's, well, lazy to use prepared chiles from a jar, but the flavour of the vinegar in which the chiles are preserved really works with this recipe.
Whether you're a seasoned chef of more of a novice in the kitchen, this easy and versatile carrot soup recipe can be re-created at home using easy-to-find fresh ingredients and a few store cupboard essentials.
Malaysian-Spiced Carrot Soup with Chile and Lime Yoghurt Swirls
Makes 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients:
FOR THE SOUP:
- 5 cherry tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 2 1/4 cups carrots, roughly chopped
- 1 3/4 cups chickpeas
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 3 teaspoons Malaysian-style satay seasoning powder (see sources below)
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
FOR THE YOGHURT GARNISH:
- 4 teaspoons plain yoghurt
- 2 teaspoons commercially packed red chiles in a jar, chopped
- 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 tablespoons fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped
Directions:
FOR THE SOUP:
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade (400 degrees F.).
- Place the cherry tomatoes on a baking sheet, drizzle olive oil over them and roast for about 40 minutes, or until the skins are slightly blackened. Let tomatoes cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic to the saucepan and cook just until vegetables are softened, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add the carrots, chickpeas and thyme. Stir in the Malaysian-style satay seasoning powder and cook until the carrots are softened, about 10 to 12 minutes.
- Add the lime juice, cover, and cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
- Uncover the saucepan, add the vegetable stock and stir to combine all of the ingredients together. Cover the saucepan, reduce the heat and simmer the mixture for about 20 to 25 minutes.
- Remove the roasted cherry tomatoes from the baking sheet and add them to the saucepan.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat. Purée the soup in batches in a food processor, blender or with a hand-held blender. Strain the soup through a sieve into the saucepan. Return saucepan to stovetop and keep the soup warm over a low heat while preparing the yoghurt garnish.
FOR THE YOGHURT GARNISH:
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the yoghurt, chiles and lime juice.
- Divide the soup between four bowls and add a swirl of the yoghurt to each one.
- Finally, add a professional finish to your presentation by sprinkling on a handful of chopped coriander leaves from a height. Serve immediately.
SOURCES
Malaysian-style satay seasoning powder
$2.95 for 4.6 ounces
888-553-5650
Cerys Morgan - Cerys lives in Kent, England, and has been caught up in a love affair with the English language for as long as she can remember. As a ...
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