CARROT COCONUT SOUP

This creamy, Thai-inspired coconut carrot soup is a true 30 minute meal (actually, it’s 30 minutes or less but I don’t want to over promise if you, like me, sometimes get a bit lost in your kitchen… then it takes 30 minutes). It’s got soft spices and I just love the colour, it’s going to be so perfect for spring dinners or lunches.

Blogger life…

But here’s a true story of how this recipe was developed. I was doing my normal weekend run on a Saturday afternoon thinking about what to make for dinner. I went through in my head what had in the fridge and remembered having a bunch of carrots that should be used quickly before they go bad. A carrot soup, that’s it. I ran back home and went straight to the kitchen to check what else I had on hand. I always have the basics like coconut milk, some chilies and ginger and this time I even found a stalk of lemongrass. Perfect, I thought, I’m going to make a Thai Carrot Coconut Soup and it’s going to be pretty and delicious, and I’m going to write up the recipe and shoot it for the blog. I just needed a quick shower before I could get started..

After having showered I came back to the kitchen and realised it’s almost 4pm already. Panic!!! Not because 4pm is too late to eat but only because, as every food blogger knows, you need a good lighting for you photos and because we live in the Northern Hemisphere and it’s January, the sun sets pretty quickly after 4pm. So it was a full on execution mode, no distractions just cooking, tasting and adjusting the plan and the seasoning as I went along making this dish.

I made it just about. At 4.30pm sharp, I had my background board laid next to the biggest window in our flat, the food was ready, the props were ready and was standing on our table in a T-shirt and panties shooting this dish (and just to be clear, that’s not my normal cooking outfit but I didn’t have time for anything else after having showered and been overtaken by this 4pm panic). I got the picture, took a deep breath and sat down, on the table. I took one of the bowls and without thinking about it started eating it, sitting on the table. It was so good that I had the other bowl as well (oops!) and only then raised my head and saw our next door neighbour on the window staring at me with a confused face.

I mean.. I don’t know what to say. When the creativity strikes at 4pm and you just have to go with it and get it done.. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to explain my neighbour that. Oh boy, I wonder how he tells this story to his family and friends.

Next time I make sure to check who is on the window on the other side of the road and at least get properly dressed (!!!!) before standing on my table with the camera.

For the love of the delicious food

The upside of this story is that this soup turned out superb and it’s now been proven to take 30 minutes or less to make. It’s slightly sweet and spicy and works like a dream with coconut yoghurt on top. I hope you like it. xx

CARROT COCONUT SOUP

 

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

25 mins

 

Author: Antidote Kitchen

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 500g carrots
• 1 bok choi
• 1 yellow onion
• Thumb-sized piece of ginger
• 1 red chili
• 1 stalk of lemongrass
• 400ml vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1-2 tbsp tamari sauce
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 x 400g can coconut milk
• 200g coconut yoghurt
• Fresh coriander or parsley
• Red chili flakes (optional)

Instructions

1. Roughly chop the carrots, bok choi, yellow onion, ginger, chili and lemon grass. (I don't worry about how finely I chop the veggies as they will be blended later anyways).
2. Prepare the vegetable stock by dissolving 1 vegetable stock cube in 400ml boiling water.
3. Put a large pan over medium heat, add the coconut oil and the carrots first. Sauté for about 5 minutes before adding the chopped white bits/the white stem of the bok choi (I save the green leaves to be used as toppings).
4. Add also the rest of the chopped veggies and saute for another 5 minutes or so.
5. Then add the vegetable stock to cover the veggies and bring to boil.
6. Reduce the heat to simmer and add the spices, tamari sauce and maple syrup.
7. Once the vegetables are tender, pour the whole mixture in a blender and blend until smooth.
8. Then transfer the soup back to the pan and bring to low simmer.
9. Add the coconut milk and taste the soup. Adjust seasoning as desired, adding more tamari sauce for saltiness, maple syrup for sweetness and/or chili flakes for spiciness.
10. Serve the soup with coconut yoghurt and top with the green bok choi leaves and green herbs.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1 Calories: 321 Fat: 22 Carbohydrates: 22 Sugar: 18 Fiber: 3 Protein: 6

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