Thai kumara & carrot soup

Photographer: Emma
Serves 6

Not being the biggest fan of winter, I often struggle with the thought of the cold winter months ahead. But the one part of winter I do love is sitting down to a piping hot bowl of soup that warms you up from the inside out!

For this soup I used kumara and carrots as my base. From here I added coriander, ginger and lemon grass, to give it a distinctive Thai flavour. Personally I love thick soup, so I didn’t add too much liquid, but if you prefer thinner, creamier soup just add more coconut milk or stock. You can use any type of kumara too, golden or orange kumara would be great and would impart a slightly stronger flavour.

INGREDIENTS

Soup
Olive oil
2 onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 stalks lemongrass, finely chopped
2 thumb sized pieces fresh ginger, finely chopped or grated
7 small kumara, peeled and chopped into cubes
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 cups chicken stock
1 can coconut milk
2 tsp honey
Salt & pepper

To serve
Natural yoghurt
Threaded coconut
1 spring onion, finely sliced
Coriander leaves

METHOD


1. Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed saucepan and add the onions and garlic and cook until they soften and become translucent. Add the lemongrass and ginger and cook for a further 10 minutes over medium heat.
2. Add the kumara and carrots and cook for a further 5 minutes and then pour in the coconut cream and chicken stock, and then the honey. Simmer for around 20 minutes or until the carrots and kumara are soft and have cooked all the way through. Season to taste.
3. Puree the soup with a whizz stick or in the blender and then serve garnished with yoghurt, coconut, spring onion and coriander leaves.