Christmas carrot and coriander soup

I love trying out different flavours and at Christmas, I do love adding Christmas flavour to more every day recipes. This soup is easy to make and the extra flavour mean it does taste Christmas with a warm flavour too.

This recipe as all soup recipes is easily doubled. This gives 4 good servings. For a more filling soup add an extra or two potatoes. I tend to always do this as being gluten-free my soup doesn’t come with gorgeous hunks of bread. So as you can see the photo is a thicker soup. Equally for a lighter soup use either none or just one potato.

To make this soup your need:

• 450g (1lb) Carrots peeled & sliced (add more if you wish)
• I large onion peeled & chopped
• 3 medium potatoes peeled & chopped
• 2 garlic  cloves finely chopped
• 900ml  (1 1/2pt) of vegetable stock ( I used a Kallo organic as they are gluten-free and rather good!)
• 1 tbls of oil (I used Sunflower as it a nice plain oil)
• zest of 1 orange
• Juice of 1 orange
• 1/4 tsp All spice
• 1/4 tsp Mixed spice
• 1/4 tsp of smoked paprika or chilli
• A good grind of black pepper (no salt needed because of the stock cube)
• 3-4 tbls of fresh coriander.

To make you need to:

• Gently heat the oil in a large pan
• Add onion and cook until just beginning to soften.
• Add carrot and potato, cook until beginning to soften.
• Add garlic, cook for a further 2 minutes.
• Season with the black pepper
• Add stock and bring to the boil. ( I use a pressure cooker so if using one at this point put the lid on and bring up to temperature)
• Once brought to the boil, turn down and simmer until veg is completely soften. About 20 minutes. Pressure cooker once up to temperature I give it 12 minutes.
• Add orange juice, orange zest, fresh coriander and spices then whizz up in the blend or like me use the hand blender (could not be without one of these!).
• Season to taste, add more spices if you think they are needed as just gently heat through for a minute or two.

Sprinkle a little fresh coriander to serve and then you have it. A warming carrot and coriander soup with a bit of Christmas zing and it does taste of Christmas.

Serve with hunks of bread and if you use the potato in it, it does makes a nice filling meal.

This soup is very freezer friendly so get cooking up and have in the freezer for when you need it.