Carrot and Coriander Soup

This soup always goes down well and can be made at any time of the year.  I made it with the new delicious spring carrots from Blackwell Produce in Melbourne that had been picked the same morning and were still being washed when I turned up to buy them!  I just scrubbed the carrots and didn't even bother to peel them, to get the extra flavour and goodness from the new skins. This level of freshness gave a really intense flavour to the soup.  Ingredients
2 lb (900 g) carrots, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon coriander seeds (or ground coriander is OK)
1 oz (25 g) butter
1 small clove garlic, crushed
2 pints (1.2 litres) chicken or vegetable stock
3 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander, plus 6 small sprigs, to garnish
3 tablespoons crème fraîche
salt and freshly ground black pepper

This recipe first appeared in The Delia Collection: Soup.

Method

Begin by dry-roasting 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. Now tip them into a pestle and mortar and crush them coarsely.

Next, heat the butter in a large saucepan, then add the chopped carrots, garlic and three-quarters of the crushed coriander seeds. Stir the carrots in the buttery juices and crushed seeds, then cover the pan and let the vegetables cook over a gentle heat until they are beginning to soften – about 10 minutes. Next, add the stock and season with salt and pepper and bring everything up to the boil.
Then 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 you can liquidise the whole lot in batches (a large bowl to put each batch in is helpful here). After that, 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.