Carrot and cumin soup

Warming, sweet and spiced

This cousin to the coriander and carrot classic brings together the delicate sweetness of both carrots and cumin to make the perfect lunch for a short autumn-winter day.

There’s nothing more satisfying (or simple!) than roasting whatever vegetables you have to hand to form the base of a wonderful soup. In about an hour, you can turn those fridge leftovers into something hearty and pleasing.

Let me know how you adapt this recipe to make other autumnal vegetable soups.

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The recipe

Serves: 2-3, cooking time: 1 hour

Ingredients

• 750g carrots

• 1.5 tbsp ground cumin

• 2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for cooking the onions

• Salt and pepper

• 1 onion

• 1 garlic clove

• 1 vegetable stock cube

• 400ml water

Equipment

• Knife

• Chopping board

• Mixing bowl

• Baking tray

• Saucepan

• Measuring jug

• Hand blender or food processor

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 170 degrees celsius/150 fan/gas mark 3. You will want the carrots to soften and gently brown, rather than quickly crisp.

2. Peel the carrots and chop into large chunks.

3. Place the carrots in the mixing bowl, add the olive oil, cumin, salt and pepper, and mix to coat the carrots.

4. Spread the carrots evenly across the baking tray. Roast in the oven for around 30-40 minutes, until the carrots have browned at the edges.

5. While the carrots are roasting, roughly chop the onion and finely chop or crush the garlic. Place these in the saucepan over a medium heat with a splash more olive oil. Cook these gently so that they soften, add a pinch of salt as they do.

6. Add the carrots to the saucepan. Stir together and break up the softened carrots a bit with your spoon. Allow to cook for a few minutes.

7. Dissolve the vegetable stock cube in 200ml boiled water, then pour into the saucepan.

8. Bring the soup to the boil and then simmer for 5-10 minutes.

9. Take off the heat and allow to cool slightly before using a hand blender to puree into a smooth soup. If you are using a food processor then leave to cool a bit more before transferring.

10. Return to the heat and serve steamy-hot. Or, if you’re saving it for a delicious lunch, then transfer to a container, allow to cool before storing in the fridge and consuming within a few days.

A dollop of crème fraîche and some chopped red chillies make for perfect toppings.