Easy carrot soup with chili recipe

Sharing some of her favourite carrot recipes, Charmaine Lehabe, co-founder of The Squared Experience, a private fine dining company serving delicious meals for their guests in Tshwane.

Charmaine’s Chilli Carrot Soup

Ingredients

1 tbs butter
1 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme or parsley
5 cups chopped carrots
2 cups water
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock (liquid)
½ cup cream (optional)
½ teaspoon salt
2 green chillis
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Method

Heat butter and oil in a pan over medium heat until the butter melts. Add onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 6 minutes.
Add garlic and thyme (or parsley) and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 10 seconds.
Stir in carrots. Add water and broth and bring to a lively simmer over high heat.
Reduce heat and simmer gently until very tender, about 25 minutes.
Puree the soup in batches in a blender until smooth (use caution when pureeing hot liquids.)
Stir in the cream (if using) and salt and pepper.
Garnish with chopped parsley and serve with crusty bread

Glazed rainbow carrots. Picture: Supplied

Franco’s Glazed Carrots

Ingredients

1kg rainbow carrots
2 tbs vegetable oil
4 tbs butter
2 whole garlic cloves
2 tbs of honey
5g fresh thyme
5g fresh sage

Method

Rinse the carrots under cold water to remove any soil. Place the unpeeled carrots into a pot of boiling salted water and blanch for 2 minutes. Remove from water and onto a separate dish and season with salt and pepper. Heat up a pan to high and first add the oil, then the butter, garlic, sage and thyme.

Add your carrots and toss in pan until they start to colour slightly. Lower the heat to medium, add the honey and let the carrots glaze and bubble for about a minute or two. Check for seasoning.

These carrots can be served alongside your favourite main, as it or with the carrot soup recipe above.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.