SUPER SLOW COOKED CARROT AND CORIANDER SOUP

I love making soups. They are a perfect thing to make when you have random bits of vegetables to use up and that is what happened to me when I had some carrots left over from a Sunday roast one week. Not wanting to put too much effort into making my soup though I decided to make a slow cooked carrot and coriander soup in my slow cooker so that I would be able to just lash everything in and leave it to work it's magic so I could spend the day walking around the park in the sun instead of being stuck in the kitchen. 

You can of course make this soup a lot quicker if you don't have the time to slow cook it by simply adding the ingredients into a large pan at step 2 rather than a slow cooker, bring the mixture to a bowl and then simmering for 20 minutes. It will still be tasty but there is something about the flavor of the soup when it's slow cooked that makes it a lot more special. It has a lot more oomph to it.

 The nutmeg in the recipe is optional so if you don't have any then don't worry but try and get hold of some if you can. The nutmeg gives the soup a bit of warmth to it, weirdly it makes it seem a bit curry like in my opinion. It's like adding a little hug to the soup and makes it a proper comforting bowl of food. 

Recipe below will make 4 large portions for a main or 6 smaller portions for a starter. Remember that the longer you slow cook your soup for the better that flavor will be so get started on this as early in the day as you can bring yourself to get in the kitchen;

Carrot And Coriander Soup

25g Butter
1 Large Peeled And Chopped Onion
1 Grated Garlic Clove
5 Large Carrots
1 Litre Vegetable Stock
Large Pinch Of Grated Nutmeg
Salt And Pepper To Season
1 Large Handful Chopped Coriander
150ml Single Cream 

1. Begin by putting the butter into a frying pan and melt it on a medium heat before adding in the onions and garlic. Peel and chop four of the carrots, add to the pan and fry some more until the onions have softened slightly. 
2. Turn on your slow cooker to high and add in all the ingredients from your pan along with the stock and nutmeg. Season liberally with salt and pepper and then leave to simmer for at least two hours until the carrots are soft.
3. Carefully use a stick blender to blend the mixture until smooth. Peel the remaining carrot and grate it before adding it into the soup along with the coriander and single cream. Turn the slow cooker down to low and leave for 15 minutes before serving.

By adding in the carrot and coriander in at the end, the carrot retains a little tender and gives the soup a little bit of texture along with the fresh punch of coriander. The single cream makes the soup rich and very full bodied but still allows the flavors of the carrot and coriander to shine through. Make sure you serve the soup alongside big pieces of warm, crusty buttered bread so that you can mop up every last little gorgeous drop. This soup is so simple to make and by slow cooking it you can pop it on in the morning and then by evening the flavors are that good that it feels like you've spent the whole day working hard making it. Now that is super!