Recipe No 488 soup Original 2014 Adapted 2014

Winter solstice soup

This velvity winter soup combines hearty vegetables with aromatic herbs and spices, which are believed to have properties which boost the immune system.

Adapted from Rita Balshaw, Hippies in the City

Time

Prep:

Total:

Difficulty
very easy
Yield
6 serves • 2400 g
Metric Imperial

Processes

  • Oil, rice bran (1 tbsp)
    14 g
  1. 01
    Heat in a large saucepan over medium heat.

  • Onion, thinly sliced (1 regular)
    140 g
  • Garlic, thinly sliced (2 cloves)
    6 g
  • Ginger, thinly sliced (1 thumb-sized)
    12 g
  1. 02
    Add to pan and sauté until lightly golden, about .

  • Water, filtered (1 litre/quart)
    1000 g
  • Sweet potato, chopped into 1" / 2.5 cm cubes (4 regular)
    1200 g
  • Carrots, roughly chopped (4 regular)
    400 g
  1. 03
    Add to pan. Cover and bring to boil.
  2. 04
    Reduce heat and simmer for .

  • Coriander, fresh, roughly chopped (1 bunch)
    15 g
  • Sea salt (1½ tsp)
    6 g
  • Tamari (4 tsp)
    20 g
  • Cashew butter (2 tsp)
    12 g
  • Cinnamon, ground (1 tsp)
    2 g
  • Turmeric, ground (1 tsp)
    6 g
  • (Optional) Black pepper, freshly cracked (see note) (1 tsp)
    1.6 g
  1. 05
    Add to pan, cover and allow to simmer for at least .
  2. 06
    Caution: hot! Process, in batches, to a fine purée using a stick blender, about .

  • Sesame seeds, lightly ground (1 tbsp)
    7 g
  • Coconut cream (3 tbsp)
    50 g
  • Coriander leaves, chopped (optional) (2 tsp)
    4 g
  1. 07
    Garnish.

Notes

When processing the purée in step 06, allow the mixture to cool slightly if using a blender and work in batches if your blender is not large enough to hold all the liquid comfortably with room to spare. It will take around to achieve the right consistency.

The ginger and pepper can make the dish boldly peppery. Consider leaving it out if your serving to guests.

We have made a modernist version of this with great success. We simply combined everything in sous vide bags, except the water, and cooked at 85°C / 185°F for —no sauté . We then added boiling water to the blender and processed for two minutes. In the domestic setting, we had to use four bags and blend in two batches. The flavours were lovely and clean, thought the pepperyness of the dish was pronounced. This would come from the ginger and the black pepper. It was not a bad thing—we liked it—but it might not be to everyone’s taste. We’ve modified the ingredient specification with an ‘(Optional)’ tag to remind us of this effect.

We use all parts of the coriander in this dish—leaves, stem and root. They are all great. We often use the root and lower stem because these parts of the coriander are often discarded.

Making ahead

Prepare the vegetables and store in an air-tight container in the fridge until required.

Storing

Keeps in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to 5 days

Food pairings

Crusty baguette. Garlic croutons.

Categorisation

Category
soup
Meal
entrée lunch
Cuisine
international
Diet
omnivorous vegetarian
Tags
solstice soup winter