Spiced Carrot Soup & Cheese-y Onion Toast

It's March, and it's getting warmer, but there's still time enough to squeeze in one or two more rounds of comfort soup!

I cooked this one up Tazmanian devil-style last night, having come home from hot yoga and wanting to hold onto that feeling of lightness and limberness. I cooked it super quick so I'm sorry that I have no photos of the cooking process for you...I was HUNGRY!!


This would work really well as a healthy D-tox recipe if you omit the coconut milk, add more stock/water and play more with the spices.


Spiced Carrot Soup
You'll need (to serve 6 as a starter):


Olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 1" knob of fresh ginger, grated
(OR if you're lazy, 1 tsp ginger powder)
1kg carrots, washed, peeled and sliced 
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
Peel of 1/2 a lemon (in two strips)
850ml stock (vegetable or chicken stock)
300ml coconut milk


1. Heat the 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large pot, add the onions, garlic and ginger and cook until soft for a few minutes, don't let them brown. Now add all of the seasoning and carrots to the pot, cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes, to let the vegetables 'sweat'.


2. Add the coconut milk (shake before pouring) and the stock, bring to the boil then turn down heat and simmer for 15 minutes, until the carrots are completely soft.


3. Remove the lemon peel, then whizz it into a soup. Enjoy hot, and with a slice of cheese-y onion toast! :-) Yummmmm


Cheese-y Onion Toast
You'll need (for 3 toasts):

A nice slice of farmers bread or sour dough
(or any ol' bread really!)
1/2 an onion, thinly sliced
A nice mature cheddar, grated
Pepper


Very simply, soften the onions by frying them in a pan with a little bit of olive oil, then add a thin layer of them on top of the toasted bread. Cover with grated cheese and bung it under the grill until the cheese is melted. 

We ♥♥ !

This is the only cheese other than French that you'll see in my Frenchman's fridge!:) He's actually the one who bought it first, it's like he has a radar for good cheese! It's nutty and flavourful - a real treat, and even better that it's conveniently available at our local Wellcome.