Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Dreamy carrot soup

To dream of carrots, portends prosperity and health. For a young woman to eat them, denotes that she will contract an early marriage and be the mother of several hardy children.
10 000 Dream Interpretations, by Gustavus Hindman Miller

One of the main reasons I love autumn is because I can serve soup, especially carrot soup, and not be given the crazy/angry/disapproving glance. Because people in Greece only eat soup when they are sick. Or in funerals.
What I love about Britain is that if you are in a hurry, you go to the supermarket and grab a fresh soup and just heat it and it usually tastes very good (the ones I had from Waitrose at least).
Many times when I have been thinking with friends about future business ventures, the conversation leads us to soup in cartons, but half a minute later one of us says "who is going to eat soup?" and we sulk in our corners, sipping the soup that apparently nobody else would.
So, yes, carrot soup. Clean your plates.

4-6 Servings
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 big onion, peeled and chopped
  • 1kg carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1400 ml vegetable stock
  • rind and juice of 1 large orange
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the butter in a large pan, add the onions, leave them for 2 - 3 minutes.
Add carrots and the stock to the pan, bring to the boil and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Do not throw the stock away.
Liquidise all the ingredients and add the puree in the stock.
Reheat gently for a couple of minutes. Season to taste.
Before you serve, add the orange juice. Grate the orange rind and garnish the individual bowls.I think this soup needs a good crunchy bread, preferably wholemeal.