Carrot & Corriander Soup

This exotic sounding soup is simple and quick to make and is absolutely delicious. It can be served as a meal on its own or as a starter at a dinner party. This does have a small amount of fat (cream & butter) but that’s OK with coloured vegetables on occasions.
You will need:
­ 1 large onion finely chopped,
­ 1 garlic clove crushed,
­ A knob of butter,
­ 1lb of carrots, ¾ thinly sliced and ¼ grated,
­ 1.75 pints (1 litre) vegetable stock,
­ A handful of freshly chopped coriander,
­ 150ml (approximately a quarter of a pint) of single cream,

What you do with all this:
­ Melt the butter in a large pan.
­ Fry the onion and garlic lightly until the onion becomes transparent.
­ Add the chopped carrots and give the mix a good stir.
­ Add the vegetable stock and bring to the boil.
­ Reduce the heat and simmer lightly for about 30 minutes or until the carrots are cooked.
­ Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool for 10 minutes.
­ Use a hand held blender to blend the mixture until smooth.
­ Stir in the grated carrots and coriander and then the cream.
­ Serve with a sprinkle of chopped coriander.
This soup can be cooked in advance and re-heated as required.