Carrot and Coriander Soup

This recipe follows the current trend of 'foods that are quite orangey and look a bit like sick', although it definitely tastes significantly better. I had a cupboard full of veg that had definitely seen better days (some of it looked like it was trying to escape), so a big batch of soup was definitely in the making. The wonderful thing about soup is that it can revitalise any vegetables past their best, as well as making a decent amount of meals (I got 5 generous bowls out of this) for just a few pennies.

Ingredients:

• Knob of butter
• 1 sorry-looking onion
• 4 carrots with legs
• 2 large sprouting potatoes
• 1 litre vegetable/chicken stock
• Generous pinch of dried chilli flakes
• Good sprinkle of cumin
• Small handful of coriander, chopped

Method:

• Finely chop the onion and gently sweat in the butter in a large casserole pot
• Meanwhile, chop the vegetables into even-sized chunks. The smaller they are, the quicker they'll cook (Mine were about 1-1.5cm cubes)
• Once the onion has softened, add the veg to the pan and give it a good stir to coat in the butter
• Saute for a few minutes, then sprinkle in the chilli and cumin
• Add the stock and bring to the boil, then put the lid on and let it simmer for around 20 minutes, stirring occasionally
• Once the vegetables are fully cooked all the way through, turn off the heat and either blitz with a hand blender (taking care not to redecorate the kitchen a lovely orange hue) or smush with a potato masher. If it seems too thick just stir through a bit more stock or water. Season to taste
• Finally stir through the coriander

Once it is finished, it can either be decanted into containers for freezing or reheated and eaten straight away, preferably with a generously buttered slab of soda bread.