Carrot, Coconut and Peanut Butter Soup with Carrot Top Pesto

Serves: 2

This hearty warming soup is great for the winter months and can be made ahead and heated up when you need it. Once made, the pesto can be kept and used on anything else you fancy. If you don’t have enough carrot tops for the pesto then make up any shortfall with coriander. The pesto will keep in the fridge in a sealed container for a week.

Carrot, Coconut and Peanut Butter Soup with Carrot Top Pesto Recipe: Veggie

Ingredients
Method

Ingredients:

For the soup:

1 tbsp sunflower oil

1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely grated

400g carrots with green leafy tops, peeled and roughly chopped

3cm root ginger, finely grated

600ml vegetable stock

2 tbsp Meridian coconut & peanut butter

For the pesto:

40g pumpkin seeds

70g vegetarian Parmesan-style cheese, grated

1 garlic clove, roughly chopped

40g carrot tops, well washed

1 tbsp Meridian coconut and peanut butter

½ lemon

180ml olive oil

method:

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently cook the onion for 5-8 minutes until it starts to soften. Add the garlic, carrots and ginger and stir well. Cook for two minutes then add the stock.
Bring to a simmer, season and cook for 15 minutes, with the lid on, until the carrots are soft. Stir in the nut butter then set aside to cool a little.
While the soup is cooking make the pesto. Toast the seeds in a dry frying pan until they begin to pop. Whiz the toasted seeds, Parmesan-style, garlic, carrot tops, nut butter, lemon zest and juice along with half of the oil, in a food processor until you have a thick paste. As its whizzing, add more oil until it becomes a drizzling consistency.
Blend the soup until smooth, add more stock if it’s too thick and check the seasoning. Reheat then ladle the soup into bowls and drizzle with pesto.

Print Recipe www.meridianfoods.co.uk