Spicy carrot soup

Chopping carrots for soup
Living in a place that has four seasons is a still a novelty for me. Growing up in Darwin, we had two seasons – the wet and the dry. From May to August the weather is milder, with no rain and cooler evenings. The nighttime temperature drops to a low of 26 degrees and the locals, feeling the cold, put on their tracksuits. The buildup to the wet season is from early September. The humidity creeps up day by day. The heat is oppressively thick, like a giant sauna. The window of time to enjoy being outdoors shrinks to the few hours at sunrise and sunset. Needless to say, living in the tropics, soup was rarely on the menu.

Here in Perth we have double seasons! Though they aren’t as dramatic as for our friends in the Northern Hemisphere (we don’t get snow in winter or fields of changing autumn leaves). But the difference is enough to enjoy a change in what we have for dinner. Autumn for me is about warming, hearty soups, baked apples and nights in with the family.

My first soup of the season is spicy carrots and sweet potato. Like all good recipes you can adapt it and substitute ingredients for what you have in your pantry. It would be just as delicious with pumpkin or parsnips. I like mine with a bit of extra heat so I add chilli flakes and cayenne pepper, but you can leave it out if you want it more mellow. Enjoy, and as always, please let me know if you make it.

This recipe uses the hygge bowl and the soup bowl.
Roasted vegetables out of the oven

Pouring coconut cream into carrot soupCarrot soup in a handmade bowl, made in Perth, Western AustraliaRoasted Carrot Soup

A warming autumn soup to nourish you, this recipe is maximum satisfaction from minimum effort. You can easily make it midweek. And like all good recipes, you can substitute lots of the ingredients for whatever you have on hand.

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 15 mins | Cook Time: 45 mins | Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

For the Soup

  • 1 large sweet potato
  • 4 carrots
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • 3 Sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 1 red capsicum – deseeded and roughly chopped
  • 1 red onion – peeled and chopped in half
  • 3 cloves garlic – left in the skin
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ tsp ground cumin
  • 1 litre vegetable stock
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 1 tin coconut cream

To Serve

  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 4 tbsp toasted pepitas
  • 2 tsp chilli flakes

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC
  2. Place the vegetables in a baking tray.
  3. Drizzle with olive oil, scatter the thyme over and sprinkle with the paprika, cumin, salt and pepper.
  4. Place in the oven for 35 minutes, the veggies should be golden and soft enough that a fork slides in easily.
  5. Discard the thyme sprigs. Squeeze the garlic out of their skins and put into a saucepan with all the other vegetables.
  6. Add the stock and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
  7. Blend in a blender until smooth (a stick blender works too).
  8. Pour in the coconut cream.
  9. Serve in soup bowls topped with roasted pepitas, chilli flakes and a few sprigs of fresh thyme.
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