Lunch Box Idea 4 – Carrot and Coriander Soup

Wow it’s turned chilly this week and this has always been one of my favourite soups for the winter.

Here’s a thought: if you get organised, you can keep a stash of chopped carrots, ready weighed out, ready bagged up in the freezer. It’s what I used to do when we lived in Poland, and the kids were small.  Then when the cold snap arrives, you just grab the bag from the freezer, whizz up a fresh batch of delicious carrot and coriander soup. Note to self: I must get into that habit again…

There’s something about peeling those carrots, slicing them up, bagging them up, and popping them in the freezer. What’s great is you don’t even have to de-frost them before making the soup. Yes, I grant you, as the carrots are frozen, the soup will take a little longer to cook but it’s just another lunch box idea that can be kept in your back pocket, freezer for those wintery days like today that appears from nowhere…

So to the recipe:

Preparation: 10mins

Cooking: 20-25mins

Serves 4

Nutritional Information:

Per serving: 102 calories, 4.0g fat, 0.4g saturates, 12.6g sugars, 0.8g salt

Ingredients:

• 15ml/1tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 450g/1lb carrots, washed and sliced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 5ml/1 tsp ground coriander
• 1.2 ltr/2 pints vegetable stock
• 45ml/3tbsp chopped fresh coriander
• squeeze of lemon juice
• freshly grated nutmeg to taste
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• single cream to serve if liked

Method:

1.       Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onions, carrots and garlic, sauté for 4mins, until they are beginning to soften but not colour. Stir in the ground coriander and plenty of seasoning and cook for 1min.

2.       Add the stock and bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 20mins or until the carrots are really tender. Stir in the fresh coriander.

3.       Whizz the soup with a stick blender or transfer to a food processor. Add the lemon juice and nutmeg to taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Reheat until just hot but not boiling and serve. Garnish with a swirl of cream if liked.

Tips:

If popping in the lunch box, make sure you get yourself one of those flasks. We even have a great selection over on the Lunchbox World Shop: we’ve a wide range for kids and adults.

Allow to cool before storing in the fridge overnight.

With this cold snap we’re having, what’s your favourite winter soup?

The Lunch Box Lady x

PS for more carrot ideas and tips, visit http://www.britishcarrots.co.uk/