It’s really cold here at the moment so I fancied something warming and comforting. I opted for this soup. I didn’t have a potato or cream and I had read in a food article that you can use cashew nuts as an alternative thickener. I wish I had tried this before the nuts gave it a really nice flavour. For the warmth I used the ginger and cumin. This was a nice hug in a bowl.

Ingredients

• 8 carrots, washed, skin left on roughly chopped
• 1 onion, peeled and diced
• 2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
• 1 tbsp garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp ground tumeric
• 35g raw cashew nuts
• 1 ltr vegetable stock
• 1 tsp of Sea salt and black pepper
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp ghee or oil for frying

Directions

1. Heat the ghee or oil in a large lidded saucepan. Add the onions and over a medium heat cook for about 5 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the ginger and cashew nuts cook for a minute. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
3. Add in the cumin and tumeric. Give it a good stir so everything is coated. Add in the carrots and again stir so the carrots get coated too.
4. Pour in the stock, bring to the boil, place the lid on and reduce heat medium low. Simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Check the carrots are soft by checking them with a fork. Blitz the soup with a hand blender or food processor. Add the red pepper flakes salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning to taste. 😀