Carrot and Cashew Soup

This is a simple soup but with complex textures and flavours. Those flavours were even more balanced when we enjoyed a serve two days after making the soup. The cinnamon was more subtle and the ginger a bit more pronounced. Therefore don't be afraid to make the soup in advance. Using vegetable stock rather than our preferred chicken stock the soup is vegetarian, and leaving out the yoghurt it is vegan.

Ingredients

1 brown onion chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves of garlic finely chopped

2cm piece of fresh ginger peeled and grated

500gm carrots, peeled and chopped into 30mm dice

1 cinnamon stick

100gm raw cashews

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 to 1.5 litres chicken stock or vegetable stock. The volume required is dependent on the viscosity of the stock used

Salt

White pepper (optional)

Yoghurt and coriander to serve.

Method

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and gently sauté the onions until they are soft and translucent but not browned. I see so many recipes that tell you to cook the onions for 5 minutes until soft; they take at least 20 minutes to do correctly.

Add the garlic and and ginger sauté for 2 minutes until aromas are released.

Add the carrots and stir until coated with oil.

Add the 1 litre of stock, half a teaspoon of salt, the cinnamon stick and the raw cashews and simmer until the carrots are soft then remove from the heat.

Remove the cinnamon stick.

When cooled slightly blend until smooth. We use a stick blender but any blender or food processor is fine. Add more stock if the soup is too thick.

Add the ground or freshly grated nutmeg.

Reheat and taste for seasoning adding more salt to taste and a little white pepper if desired.

Serve with a tablespoon of yoghurt and garnish with a sprig of fresh coriander.