Today is International Carrot Day! And with that, summer has left SA it seems… we’ll be into cooking soups with root vegetables in no time!

Carrots, I find, are always available and they keep well, so I usually have a bunch in my fridge. They’re a really good source of Beta Carotene, Fiber, Potassium and Antioxidants. So with winter upon us, we should all be boosting our immune systems. Let’s make carrot soup!

Here’s what goes in:

1kg carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

500g butternut cubes

1 large onion, roughly chopped 

2L vegetable stock

A handful of fresh herbs, including things like parsley, chives, origanum and thyme 

Or a good pinch of dried herbs

Salt to season, depending on how salty your stock is

A bit of fresh cream for the topping

How to do it:

Place all of the vegetables, herbs and seasoning into a large, deep pot, and then pour over the vegetable stock, ensuring that the vegetables are immersed in liquid. Put the lid on and allow to simmer until the vegetables are very tender. Keep checking the liquid levels and don’t let the soup evaporate – add more stock if needed. Set this aside to cool. Pour the entire mixture into a food processor and pulse until the soup is smooth and free of lumps. (You will probably have to do this a few times as this recipe makes a big batch of soup). Return the soup to the pot and stir additional stock through, if you’d like it to be thinner. Otherwise just stir a bit of cream through, as you heat the soup for serving. The result should be a thick, velvety soup that you can serve with delicious bread or perhaps topped with a few croutons.