Friday 5 October 2012

Carrot & Tomato Soup

As the days are getting wetter, colder and darker it’s time for warm and wintery soups to make an appearance. At the weekend I bought a huge bag of carrots on offer and knew they were destined for soup. Lentil soup is one of my favourites and I was sure I had a tin of lentils in my cupboard so planned on making carrot and lentil soup. On returning home I discovered the tin was actually a tin of chopped tomatoes. Darn.

Carrot and tomato soup still sounded wonderfully appealing and so I carried on regardless. To compliment the tomato element I added some oregano and paprika and a little cumin to add a warming note.

The finished soup was lovely. I left it slightly coarse rather than super smooth, as I like the texture this gives for eating it as a meal. Perfect for mopping up with a bit of gluten free bread.

At the last minute I added just a smidge of balsamic vinegar and it really lifted and enriched the flavour of the tomatoes.

I live on top of a hill in Sheffield, meaning it’s quite open and exposed. I often get a bit battered by the wind and rain and in these situations a big steaming bowl of soup is just what’s needed. With winter starting to draw in, there will be lots more soup on the horizon I think!

Carrot & Tomato Soup
Ingredients
1 onion
1 large potato
5 carrots
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
1½ pints of vegetable stock
2 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp ground cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp tomato puree (or ketchup)
½ tsp balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper

Method
Peel and roughly chop the onion. Also dice the carrots and potato, although you don’t need to peel them.
Heat the oil and add the vegetables, stir to coat them in the oil and then place the lid on and allow the veg to sweat in the steam they produce.
Cook for 15 minutes, stirring every so often to prevent the veg from burning.
Add the herbs, spices, water/veg stock, tomato puree, the tin of chopped tomatoes and a little salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer and place the lid partially back on, to allow the steam to escape. Simmer for 30 minutes until the veg is soft and tender.
Remove from the heat and blitz in a liquidizer or using a stick blender. You can make it as smooth or as chunky as you like. Season to taste.
Stir through the balsamic vinegar and serve with bread for dipping.
Serves 4-6

7 comments:

Johanna GGG said...

looks delicious - I made soup tonight and added some cooked quinoa after I pureed the veg - I can imagine this would work well with this soup too

Amanda said...

Yum. I love making soup as the autumn comes along. I always add a bit of orange juice - fresh or from a carton - to a carrot and tomato soup.

Paloma said...

Looks really delicious! Perfect for fall! ;)

Chele said...

Mmmmmmmmmm, lovely soup. Don't you just hate finding out that tin of goodness wasn't what you thought it was. Great result in any case.

Caroline said...

That sounds really tasty - I would never have thought of putting tomatoes and carrots together, they just don't seem a natural pairing. Your soup looks delicious though!

The Caked Crusader said...

My first thought was 'I know about carrot and lentil soup, but not this one' then I got to the bit in your post explaining it! It's often the best way of discovering new things!

Hello said...

Nothing beats a hearty, Autumn soup. Nutritious and delicious x