Carrot Cumin Soup With Toasted Pecans Recipes

Steps:

• Heat the butter in a deep saucepan over a medium heat until just starting to sizzle, then fry the cumin seeds until toasted and crackling.
• Add the onion, leek, garlic, star anise, carrots and a pinch of salt. Stir to coat. Cover, reduce the heat to low and cook gently for 15-20 mins, stirring occasionally until the vegetables have softened in their own steam.
• Pour over the stock and bring the mixture to a simmer, then continue to cook for 10 mins until the carrots are tender. Spoon 2 tbsp of the cream into a small dish and set aside, then pour the rest into the pan and bring back to the boil. Remove the star anise and use a hand blender to blitz the mixture until smooth and silky. Or, tip into a standard blender in batches and blitz before returning to the pan. For a really smooth soup, push through a sieve into a saucepan. At this stage, the soup can be cooled completely and chilled for up to three days or frozen for six months. Defrost fully before reheating. Reheat until piping hot over a low heat, then pour into bowls, drizzle with the reserved cream and scatter the extra cumin seeds on top. Serve with these cheese, cumin & onion seed cornbread muffins, if you like.

Steps:

• In a saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat.
• Saute onions until tender.
• Add carrots, cumin, and salt; cook, stirring 1 minute.
• Add vegetable broth and bring to a boil.
• Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 25 minutes or until carrots are tender.
• Spread out pecans on a baking sheet.
• Toast in oven at 350°F for 8 minutes or until 1 shade darker.
• Toss pecans with 1 teaspoon butter and add salt to taste; set aside.
• Pour soup into a blender container (may have to do in 2 batches).
• Puree until smooth.
• Pour soup into bowls and sprinkle with pecans on top.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Make soup:
• In a saucepan cook onion in butter over moderate heat, stirring, until softened. Add carrots, cumin, and salt and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add water and simmer mixture, covered, 25 minutes, or until carrots are very tender.
• Prepare pecans while carrot soup is simmering:
• On a baking sheet toast pecans in middle of oven 8 minutes, or until fragrant and 1 shade darker. Toss pecans with butter a nd salt to taste.
• In a blender purée soup until smooth.
• Divide soup between 2 soup bowls and top with pecans.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a sheet pan or a baking dish with parchment or foil. Toss vegetables, including garlic cloves, with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Spread in baking dish or on sheet pan in an even layer and place in oven. Set timer for 20 minutes.
• After 20 minutes, stir vegetables and turn heat down to 400 degrees. Roast for another 20 to 30 minutes (or longer; I have found every oven I've used to be different, thus the range), or until very tender and caramelized on the edges, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. You should have about 4 cups roasted vegetables.
• Hold garlic cloves with a towel so that you don't burn your fingers. Squeeze out the pulp into a blender. Add half the vegetables and 2 cups of the stock. Cover the top of the blender with a towel pulled down tight, rather than airtight with the lid, because hot mixture will jump and push the top off if the blender is closed airtight. Blend until smooth and transfer to a soup pot. Repeat with the second half of the roasted vegetables. Transfer to the pot and whisk in remaining broth. Season to taste with salt and pepper and heat through. Serve each bowl with a sprinkle of chopped fresh herbs and if you wish, a swirl of crème fraîche or yogurt.

Steps:

• Fry the onion in a little oil until it softens.
• Add the cumin and chili and cook for a minute then add the carrot, sugar and stock and bring to a simmer.
• Cook for 10 minutes or until the carrot is very soft, then whizz in a blender. Add some more stock or water if the soup is too thick and reheat if you need to.
• Stir through the cilantro, season well.
• Add a spoonful of crème fraîche to each bowl to serve, if you like.