Roasted Carrot and Coriander Soup with a Greek Yogurt and Fresh Herb Drizzle

While we were in London last week, my daughter served us a fabulous Carrot and Coriander Soup. It was tasty, healthy and just plain delicious with crushed coriander seed, fresh coriander (cilantro) and LOTS of carrots. I haven't been able to get that yummy soup out of my mind, so when the hot weather broke this weekend I pulled out her recipe..........
and adapted it just a bit.

Since I had just been to the market and purchased a bunch of lovely fresh veggies I decided to incorporate some of them into my soup along with the carrots. I also decided to roast the veggies with a bit of brown sugar instead of simmering  them as the recipe called for - to add a layer of delicious caramelized flavor. The house smelled heavenly as the veggies roasted and they were a beautiful deep golden, slightly charred sight as they emerged from the oven.

The only other change I made was to substitute a topping made with Greek yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil and fresh herbs for the sour cream (or créme fraiche) in the original recipe. The first time I served it, I blended it with my immersion blender and left it with a bit of a coarse texture. The next time I pureed it to a smooth, fine consistency in my regular blender. I preferred it more rustic with tiny bits of veggies perceptible where as my sous chef (husband) really liked the smooth, silky version. Which ever rendition you prefer, I think you will agree that the flavor of this healthy, low calorie, vibrant soup is out of this world!

P.S. This soup is so good that I ate a bowl two bowls of it for breakfast this morning (I know I'm a bit  quite strange but I've already gotten my quota of veggies in for the day)!

Carrot & Coriander Soup with a Greek Yogurt and Fresh Herb Drizzle

Ingredients for the soup
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 large sweet onion, roughly chopped

2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (see How to cut carrots)
1 medium fresh fennel, bulb, about 6 ounces, trimmed and roughly chopped
2 medium parsnips, peeled and roughly chopped
1 large sweet potato, peeled and roughly chopped
4 large garlic, or 6 medium cloves, peeled and left whole
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 jalapeño, halved, then stemmed, halved, and seeded and roughly chopped
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon coriander seeds, crushed (with a mortar and pestle or the bottom of a heavy pan)
a few sprigs of fresh thyme (optional)
8 cups low-salt canned chicken broth, plus a bit more if needed for thinning
1 bunch cilantro, about 3 ounces, with stems attached, washed and roughly chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon butter

Ingredients for the drizzle
½ cup greek yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 teaspoon fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
sea salt, to taste
fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 475˚F. Spray a large sheet pan with cooking spray or oil with a paper towel dipped in vegetable oil.

2. Combine first thirteen ingredients on sheet pan. Toss well to coat all veggies with oil (I use my hands). Set timer and roast for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and, with a metal spatula, carefully stir veggies. Return to oven, set timer again for 8 minutes; repeat this roasting and stirring procedure about 3 more times or until veggies are deep golden brown and some are slightly charred (mine took about 30 minutes).

3. Allow carrot mixture to cool a bit and then transfer to a large pot or dutch oven. Add the stock and cilantro and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Allow soup to cool then carefully purée the soup in batches with an immersion blender (for a more rustic texture) or in a regular blender (for a silky smooth texture).

4. Stir in the butter and taste for seasoning. If the soup seems too thick, add a extra chicken broth.

5. For The Greek Yogurt and Fresh Herb Drizzle, place all ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine. Add a bit of milk if mixture is too thick to drizzle.

Soup recipe adapted from Fine Cooking, Yogurt Drizzle recipe adapted from Ottolenghi

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