A rainy day means Carrot and Coriander Soup

When we lived in England a good friend, and excellent cook, introduced me to the joy of Carrot and Corriander Soup. I loved the simplicity and freshness of this soup and when I found out I could buy it in a carrot in the refrigerated section of nearly every grocery store in England I was in vegetable heaven! 

I must have eaten this soup at least once a week for lunch because I could grab it, throw it in my bag and instant work day lunch. When I was pregnant with my first child I craved this soup so much I would buy 3 or 4 cartons a week! Which might just explain my daughter's love of carrots.

Imagine the withdrawal I went into when we moved back to the States. I searched for recipes for carrot soup that got close to the version I remembered so fondly, but even the recipe from the company who made the soup was never quite right. 

Well, after years of experimenting and playing with the recipe I think I have finally got it! 

Carrot and Corriander Soup

1 sweet onion, chopped (I like Vidalia onions for this)

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 tbsp butter

2 lbs carrots, roughly chopped, plus another 2 carrots grated 

6 cups water

1/4 cup heavy cream or half and half 

1/4 cup chopped fresh corriander leaves (cilantro for all us Americans 😊)

Salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a large stock pot and sauté the onions and garlic over medium-low heat stirring often, until onions are soft and translucent be careful to avoid browning the onions. 

Once the onions and garlic are soft and the  chopped carrots and the water. Cover, and simmer on medium high heat until the carrots are just cooked thru (about 10-15 minutes). 

Next purée the soup until smooth with either a blender, food processor, or stick blender. 

Return the soup to the pot and add the raw grated carrots, cream or half and half (you can omit the cream if you like but it isn't much and really does add to the flavor of the soup), salt, pepper, and Corriander leaves. 

Serve piping hot with crusty warm bread, or my favorite for a light lunch, tuna salad with cucumber on baguette. 

I hope this soup keeps you warm on a cold and rainy spring day, like it is here today.

Bon appetite! 

K