Summary

Servings: 
6
Prep time: 
20 minutes

Description

Warm up with a comforting bowl of carrot soup. We’ve used double cream for a velvety texture, and to carry the flavours of warming cumin and star anise.

Ingredients

  • 25g butter
  • 2 tbsp cumin seeds, plus extra to serve
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 leek, green part trimmed away, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 star anise
  • 600g carrots, chopped
  • 1 litre vegetable stock
  • 100ml double cream

Instructions

  1. Heat the butter in a deep saucepan over a medium heat until just starting to sizzle, then fry the cumin seeds until toasted and crackling.
  2. Add the onion, leek, garlic, star anise, carrots and a pinch of salt. Stir to coat. Cover, reduce the heat to low and cook gently for 15-20 mins, stirring occasionally until the vegetables have softened in their own steam.
  3. Pour over the stock and bring the mixture to a simmer, then continue to cook for 10 mins until the carrots are tender. Spoon 2 tbsp of the cream into a small dish and set aside, then pour the rest into the pan and bring back to the boil. Remove the star anise and use a hand blender to blitz the mixture until smooth and silky. Or, tip into a standard blender in batches and blitz before returning to the pan. For a really smooth soup, push through a sieve into a saucepan. At this stage, the soup can be cooled completely and chilled for up to three days or frozen for six months. Defrost fully before reheating. Reheat until piping hot over a low heat, then pour into bowls, drizzle with the reserved cream and scatter the extra cumin seeds on top. Serve with bread.