As far as I can remember, Easter in Sydney has always been rainy and cold, but not this year.Not that I am complaining about the Indian summer we’ve had. I mean, who would ever tire of balmy nights and sunny warm days extending for ever… Salads and BBQ anything have been staples thru February and March, to the point where the family was craving for a good old roast or casserole. Then Autumn finally arrived yesterday, with a change of wind and a temperature drop of about 15C. Perfect opportunity to dine inside and taste soup.
We have been very busy lately with new business ventures and preparing the house for upcoming visitors, and there has been too many store bought dinners and easy-carb-filled options substituting for nutritious meals. So with the cooling weather yesterday, I decided to get back into “proper” cooking mood and concoct something quick and nutritious for dinner: Soup.

It had to be carrot soup, as they were the only vegetable in the fridge, and turning them into sticks for dip dind’t appeal to anyone. Then I came across this post from Smitten Kitchen, fell in love with the simplicity of it and had to try it. I tweaked a couple of things ( swapped white miso for red, left out the sesame oil only because we had ran out of it!) but the result was an astonishing tasty soup, more savoury than sweet thanks to the miso addition. And I am pleased to report that with hardly any fat added in, this soup is probably a welcome addition to hosts catering for “special diets “ (think gluten free, grain free, meat free, nut free, ect..) or calorie-conscious guests.

Carrot soup with ginger and miso
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Serves 4-6 for starters

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
800g carrots, peeled and sliced
1 large onion chopped
6 small garlic cloves
1 tbsp grated ginger
4 cups of vegetable broth
1/4 cup of red miso
A handful of spring onions and chopped coriander, to serve

1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add carrots, onion, crushed garlic cloves and saute for a few minutes, until onion is translucid. Add broth and ginger. Cover and simmer until tender, about 30 minutes.
2. Puree the soup in batches in a blender until smooth. In a small bowl, mix the miso with a 1/2 cup of soup mixture. Stir back into the pot of soup.Taste and adjust the seasoning as required (it should already be quite salty from the miso)
3. Garnish with coriander and spring onions and enjoy!