Carrot and Coriander Soup

Ingredients
2 oz butter
2 leeks (sliced)
450g carrots (sliced)
1 tbsp ground coriander
2 pints chicken stock
salt and pepper
greek yoghurt
fresh coriander to garnish

Method
Melt the butter in a large lidded saucepan and add the carrots and leeks. Stir well to coat the vegetables with the butter, cover, and cook gently for 10 minutes until softening but not colouring. Add the coriander, stir well and cook for another minute.

Add the chicken stock (I use 3 stock cubes for my 2 pints of stock, but make it however you want), season to taste (I use salt, white pepper and black pepper), bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Purée the soup in a blender and return to the pan. Add about 2 tbsp greek yoghurt, mix well, and reheat gently. Don't allow the soup to boil.
Ladle into bowls, add another dollop of yoghurt to the centre of each bowl, and sprinkle with fresh coriander to serve.



Variations:

Butternut Squash & Coconut Soup
Substitute the carrots for 2 butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded and diced; and add a blend of tumeric, cumin, coriander and chilli powder or cayenne pepper. Season with salt and white pepper. Add a 400ml can of coconut milk, and only use 600ml stock.

Broccoli and Stilton Soup
Use 2 heads of broccoli, cut into florets, instead of the carrots and coriander. Once you've puréed the soup, add up to 400g chopped up stilton - to taste - puréeing as you go.

Spicy Parsnip and Sweet Potato Soup
Use about 4 chunky parsnips, peeled and diced, and 2 or 3 sweet potatoes, instead of the carrots. (Use your own judgement!) Add between a quarter to a half teaspoon chilli powder, or experiment with little red chillies. I added coriander as well to my attempt.