Creamy Carrot & Orange Soup

Ingredients:1 x 15ml spoon sunflower oil, 600 ml water, 1 x vegetable stock cube or 1 x 5ml spoon bouillon powder, 1 onion,1 clove garlic, 6 large carrots, rind and juice of 1 large orange or 100ml orange juice, 1 x 5ml spoon ground cumin, 1 x 5ml spoon fresh or dried rosemary or fresh coriander, salt and freshly ground black pepper.

1. Peel onion. Make a bridge with your hand and cut the onion in half. Put the flat sides down on the board.

2. Hold the onion firmly with your hand like a claw. Slice across without cutting through the root.

3. Turn the onion round and still holding it like a claw, slice in the other direction.

4. Peel the carrots. Cut off the tops and bottoms.

5. Cut the carrots into even sized chunks.

6. Grate the zest from the orange. Try to avoid the white pith under the zest – it’s bitter.

7. Cut the orange in half and squeeze out the juice.

8. Crush a clove of garlic. The prepared vegetables should now look like this.

9. Heat up 1 x 15ml spoon of sunflower oil in a large saucepan.

10. Add the onion and garlic to the pan, turn down the heat.

11. Put a lid on the pan and ‘sweat’ the vegetables for 2–3 minutes. This draws out the flavour without allowing the vegetables to colour or burn.

12. Add the carrot, cover again and sweat the vegetables for a further 10 minutes.

13. Add the spices, herbs and orange zest.

14. Dissolve the stock cube or bouillion powder in 600ml boiling water and add this to the pan.

15. Add the orange juice.

16. Bring the mixture to the boil and then reduce the heat so that the soup is just simmering.

17. Cover and simmer for 40 minutes.

18. Allow the soup to cool slightly and then pour it into a blender or liquidiser.

19. Blend until the required consistency is reached. Season with salt and pepper. Return the soup to a clean pan and re-heat gently without boiling.

20. Serve with a baguette or crusty roll and garnish with a swirl of cream or crème fraiche. Add a few toasted pumpkin seeds if you like.