Spicy Carrot Soup Recipe

This carrot, sweet potato and chickpea soup is thick and smooth. We garnish the soup with croutons and/or freshly ground black pepper.

The soup can be made as mild or hot as you like. The heat level will depend on the type and amount of chilli used, and whether the chilli seeds and ribs are included (remove them for a milder soup).

The recipe specifies canned chickpeas, but if you would prefer to cook the chickpeas yourself, you can substitute 245 grams of cooked chickpeas.

Yields about 2.3 litres (9 1/3 cups) of soup.

We use a 20ml tablespoon and 250ml measuring cup for all of our recipes.

30ml (1 1/2 tablespoons) oil
300g (about 2 medium) onions, peeled and finely chopped
1 red chilli (or to taste), finely chopped
20g (about 3 large) garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
2 teaspoons ground cumin seeds
800g carrots, peeled and chopped into small pieces
350g sweet potato, peeled and chopped into small pieces
400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1.25 litres (5 cups) vegetable stock
Salt, to taste

Heat oil in a heavy-based stockpot or very large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and chilli to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for about eight minutes, or until onion has softened.

Add garlic, coriander and cumin to the pan and cook, stirring, for about one minute. © exclusivelyfood.com.au

Add carrot, sweet potato, chickpeas and stock to the pan.

Stir to mix the ingredients.

Cover saucepan, increase heat to high, and bring mixture to the boil. When the mixture boils, reduce the heat, and open the steam vent on the pan lid. Simmer mixture for about 30 minutes, or until vegetables are very soft. Taste and season with salt.

Puree mixture with a stick blender until smooth, and then serve or store.

Alternatively, set soup aside to cool for about 10 minutes, and then puree in a blender in batches. When pureeing hot soup in a blender, we have the blender no more than one third full. We leave the lid plug out, cover the hole in the lid with a few paper towels or a clean tea towel, and hold the lid down while pureeing. Reheat soup and serve, or store until required.

The soup can be reheated in a saucepan over medium to low heat, stirring constantly, or in a microwave.

Store soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer. We freeze the soup in single-serve portions. © www.exclusivelyfood.com.au