A Belly Warming Winter Soup To Try

It seems at the moment, wherever you live, you're probably battling the chill and trying to stay warm. And comfort food might be top of mind to end the day. Since New Year, we’ve also been battling our expanding waistlines here at the farm, so we've been eating lots of stews and soups. I was looking for a new recipe to try this weekend, and turned to our new book, Big Heart Little Stove by Erin French for inspiration…

Ever since discovering Erin French and her restaurant, The Lost Kitchen on a trip to Maine last summer, I’ve been diving into her creative cuisine and beautiful use of edible flowers and interesting flavor profiles. She has recently launched her new cookbook, Big Heart Little Stove and I thought I’d try her Toasted Coriander and Carrot Soup.

The ingredients are very simple and you probably have most of them, if not all on hand. You start by toasting coriander seeds in hot olive oil and add in onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Once that’s all cooked down, you add in your chopped carrots, butter and brown sugar (I used light brown) and cook until the butter is melted. The recipe suggests chicken stock, but I subbed with vegetarian "chicken" stock. Once the stock is added, bring to a simmer, cook until the carrots are tender, and then transfer the soup into a blender. 

Blend until smooth and then transfer back into the pot. Erin suggests pouring the soup through a strainer, but I forgot to do that (and in my opinion, it turned out really smooth and even in consistency). Add more salt and pepper if desired. 

This is where the recipe gets really fun and full of flavor. Once you’ve served the soup in a bowl, drizzle honey over the soup (you can get creative with a design). I used our dark maple syrup which has a really rich, not so sweet flavor. Then drizzle over plain yogurt (you can sub with a plain non dairy yogurt) and then sprinkle sunflower seeds. Erin suggests cilantro and keeping any bolted flowers from their stems to add. I added chopped cilantro but didn’t have their flowers, so added some edible cornflower and chamomile flowers instead. They were not only delicious but a pretty and colorful garnish too. 

The ingredients made enough for a few days worth of meals, so a great take-to-work lunch or light dinner. If you end up trying it, let me know what you think and how you garnished yours! 

Stay warm out there, friends...

Sending lots of love,