Heather's Carrot & Butternut soup, served with mascarpone and cream, topped with parmesan and potato peel compost, with toasted tortilla wedges for dipping.
I made this soup because I got a 5 kg bag of carrots for R10 at the vegetable shop. They also had sacks of butternut for R15, so I got butternut too, and when I got home I thought what am I going to do with all these carrots? Make soup!
Makes 7 liters of Soup Method:
2.5 k'gs of carrots (peeled and chopped) 1 butternut (peeled, remove the seeds, and chopped) ± 2 liters of water (add more as needed) some Bovril for stock in the water (2 teaspoons)
• Put into a BIG pot and cook on a bubble med/high temperature until the carrots are soft • Put through the blender then put back into the pot once completely smooth. • Keep the pot on a low heat
• Add 1/2 teaspoon curry powder • Salt to taste • Black pepper to taste • 1/4 teaspoon ginger powder • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder • 2 pinches of dried thyme • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
Stir really well for ± 1 minute. Stir in 1/4 cup of cream and 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese (the mascarpone is optional)
Ladle into mugs. Sprinkle a teaspoon of grated parmesan on the top of the soup in the mug, then top that with vegetable compost (healthier than croutons), and serve.
Freeze extra in freezer bags
How to make Vegetable Peel compost
Vegetable Compost:
I make vegetable compost whenever I peel sweet potatoes, parsnips, or potatoes. In this recipe I used the peelings from my pink and indigo potatoes. I harvested them from the garden, washed them, peeled them, chopped them into cubes and froze them to use at a later date (see our recipe on making potato croquets).
Spread the potato peels over a baking tray or oven tray, lightly drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with Himalayan salt, and roast slowly in the oven until the peels are crispy. Scoop into a bowl and sprinkle with grated parmesan. When cool put the peels into a freezer bag and freeze or refrigerate them. Use them whenever you need them. I have bags of vegetable compost (it looks like compost so that's what I call it) in the freezer. Instead of throwing the peels into the compost I turn them into 'croutons' to use on soup. They also make a great snack :)
This gives the soup texture without packing on the calories. They stay crunchy long enough to consume a mug of soup.
Tortilla Sandwich Wedges
We get the seeded tortillas from Woolworths (seeds are rich in omega 3,6, and 9).
Simply cover a tortilla with cheese slices (we used white cheddar cheese). Sprinkle with crushed chili (ours is home grown and dried) or bacon, cover with another tortilla, and fry on both sides in a dry non stick frying pan. Once the outside has crisped up and gone slightly toasted, flip over to do the other side. Empty out onto a bread board and cut into wedges with a pizza slicer.
These are a GREAT alternative to toast. They don't cause bloating (which bread does), and are super healthy.