Warming Carrot and Coconut Soup

I love soup! I could eat soup every night of the week and be perfectly satisfied. There are so many flavour combinations, so many ingredients that the possibilities are almost endless. As it is nearly March and there are signs of Spring in Devon (my absolute favourite time of the year) I was inspired to make a bright and cheerful soup to warm me up on a blustery evening. School is pretty hectic as usual and with only 5 weeks of this half of term I am beginning to feel rising panic! Our year group is being moderated this year and with parents' evening next week I needed a bit of cooking-therapy. This soup was thrown together as a little trial but it came out so wonderfully well that I thought I should share. It is a Paleo friendly recipe and completely vegan, gluten free, dairy free and grain free. I hope you enjoy it!

Serves 4-6

You will need:

Blender

a little coconut oil or olive oil to fry off the vegetables

700ml -1l of home-made or good quality vegetable stock (check it has no hidden sugar, gluten etc)

1 red onion, roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, diced

2 large leeks, trimmed and cut into semi-circle coins

600g carrots, cut into coins

1 tbsp freshly grated ginger (take off skin first)

1 heaped tsp turmeric

3 cardamom pods

1 cup full fat coconut milk plus a little extra to serve

handful of coriander - about 2 tbsp - roughly chopped plus extra to serve

salt and pepper 

Chop all the vegetables and prepare the stock and keep it warm. Warm the coconut oil or olive oil in a deep pan. Gently fry off the onion, garlic and leeks until soft and beginning to brown. Add the carrots and grated ginger and cook for a further 2 minutes. 

Whilst this is happening prepare the cardamom. Break open the pods, pick out the seeds and discard the cases. Grind the seeds and then add this, as well as the turmeric, to the vegetables. Add a little salt and pepper - add more after blending if needs be.

Stir the mixture until all the vegetables are coated in the spices and the aromas develop. Add the stock and bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes until the carrots are fork tender. At this point add the coconut milk and the chopped coriander.

Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. Transfer back to a clean pot and warm through. Taste and then add salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle into big bowls and garnish with finely chopped coriander and a little extra coconut milk. Enjoy with a piece of my Caveman Paleo Bread. Springtime in a bowl!