Every so often, I stumble across one of those great additions to my cookbook library. All credit for the latest gem goes to my husband, Bob. He came home last weekend with Nigel Slater’s, Tender – a personal diary recounting Mr. Slater’s adventures in both his kitchen and garden. Well worth checking out, if only for the photography.
And the timing for the book’s arrival was just about perfect. Our fridge at the Loft was overflowing with spring carrots. We were in need of inspiration. With the San Francisco wind blowing, we decided to hearty up the soup a bit with some Arborio rice, cumin & a sprinkle of goat cheese. For those enjoying warmer weather, feel free to leave them out. The wonderful thing about this soup is it’s simplicity. Enjoy.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 lb carrots, chopped
1 lb ripe tomatoes, chopped
4 cups vegetable stock
1/2 teaspoon cumin
3 tablespoons Arborio rice
a pinch of salt & pepper
1 bay leaf
4 tablespoons crumbled goat cheese
Steps:
- In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, stirring occasionally until they become translucent, about 4 minutes.
- Add the carrots, tomatoes, vegetable stock, cumin, Arborio rice, salt, pepper and bay leaf, simmer for 30 minutes or so.
- Transfer to a blender in batches. The consistency is up to you. We opted for a soup on the chunkier side.
- Sprinkle a bit of goat cheese on top of each bowl immediately before serving.
Serves 4.
