Carrot & Coriander Soup
Forgive the stereotypical food blogger musing here, but I first had this glorious soup when we lived in the UK. We used to buy “carrot and coriander” soup in little cardboard cartons at Marks and Spencer in downtown Cambridge. One thing that I remember most about the M&S in Cambridge is that to walk in, you needed to walk through an ancient (to this American) graveyard. Sunken graves and crumbling gravestones lined the little ramp going into the back entrance of the Marks and Spencer where I would push my double jogging stroller – a baby in each seat, and another very tiny baby strapped to my front. I would get chills down my spine looking at the graves from before my country was even a country, and I would wonder how in the world I came to be so lucky to be surrounded by so much history and strange uniqueness.
Forgive the continued musing – but I do remember when this soup became wed to my soul – It was in those early days of parenthood with two little ones and a newborn baby. It was DARK and grey and oh, so cold. I remember I was coming down with some virus, exhausted and overwhelmed. I warmed up a carton of my “Marks and Sparks” soup and made ham and cheese grilled sandwiches (brushed with a little hot mustard) on the panini press. It was bliss. I was still coming out of diet culture and I wondered for a moment whether this was a “right” choice of food, but then remembered that I was (after all) tired and cranky and really giving life my “all”. So I ate this soup and dipped my sandwich in it until it was all gone. I then took a long nap and woke up feeling a million times better.
I did not make this soup on my own until we lived in Okinawa, Japan. Why make something when you can just walk to the market and buy some? Anyway, making this all the way in Japan years after the walking-past-gravestones days was like opening a letter from a dear old friend.
Today I made this during one of my “therapeutic cooking sessions”. The three babies that I pushed into that market (past the gravestones) are ALL adults now, and I have younger children who enjoyed this soup after a cold day walking home from the bus stop in Germany.
What else to say? Nothing, except this is DELICIOUS and exceptionally simple to make.
Coriander or Cilantro?
In the U.S. we call the leaves of the coriander plant cilantro. So technically this should be called “Carrot and Cilantro Soup”. But in the U.K. where this is popular they call cilantro “coriander”.
If you’re from the U.S. and are sure you’ve heard the word coriander before, you would be right. In the U.S. the seeds of the cilantro plant are called coriander. So, if you spot some ground coriander in an American market – those are ground cilantro seeds.
This soup, while looking and sounding fancy – is really quite simple to make! This cooks up from start to finish in about 45 minutes.
Carrot & Coriander Soup
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 large onion peeled and diced
- 3 1/2 cups carrots peeled and chopped
- 4 1/2 cups floury potatoes – white or Yukon gold (not red) peeled and chopped
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups corriander/cilantro leaves
- 1/2 cup cream
- 2 tsp salt or to taste
Instructions
- In a heavy soup pot melt the butter over medium/high heat. Sautee the onion until cooked down, fragrant, but not browned.
- Add the carrots and potatoes and stir well. Add the chicken broth and bring the soup mixture to a low simmer. Put the top on the pot and simmer on medium for about 30 minutes, or until the carrots and potatoes are soft.
- Puree the soup using an immersion blender or a food processor/stand blender. cool the soup slightly before blending for your own safety.
- Stir in the cream and add the coriander leaves. The leaves will wilt and become fragrant in the warm soup. Salt to taste. Serve with additional coriander leaves as garnish.