Vegan Chipotle Carrot & Coriander Soup

Vegan Chipotle Carrot & Coriander Soup

Soups are so comforting, warming and simple. Served with a lovely lump of bread there are few things that can make me feel more like I'm being hugged from the inside than than a big old mug of warmness. As someone who is vegetarian and dairy free, soup in a can is not really something that I can get down with because even when it's veggie, nine times out ten, they put milk all up in it. But that's cool, that's alright, I'll just make my own! Making soup from scratch means that you can miss out the dairy AND all of that extra salt that they use to store it for ages.

This carrot and coriander soup is a spicy little number inspired by the jalapeño pickled carrots that you get in quality Mexican restaurants in Los Angeles. I'm a little bit obsessed with chipotle chilli flakes at the moment and the smokiness is put to great use here.

Vegan Chipotle Carrot & Coriander Soup

Serves 2

Ingredients

500g carrots, peeled & chopped
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp chipotle chilli flakes
2 tbsp soy margarine
1 clove garlic crushed
600g vegetable broth
2 tbsp almond milk

1. Dry roast the cilantro seeds and chilli flakes in the bottom of your sauce pan for 1 or 2 minutes or until you can smell them. Once toasted, remove from heat, and crush in a pestle and mortar.
2. Add margarine to the saucepan along with chopped carrots, garlic and all the coriander seeds. Stir everything around until everything is evenly coated, then cook on a low heat until carrots begin to soften - 10 mins or so. 
3. Add the vegetable stock and season to taste with salt and pepper, before bringing to a boil.
4. Reduce to a simmer, cover and let cook for another 15 mins until everything is tender. Remove from heat and liquidise with a hand blender or food processor. To finish, return to heat and stir in almond milk. Dish up and eat.