{Cook} Immunity Boosting Autumnal Soup ~ carrot & sweet potato with cashew & coriander pesto

So yummy, so easy & so nourishing & immunity boosting for your autumnal body.  From our kitchen to yours.

Once I surrender to the unfolding of autumn…I am much, much more likely to spend time happily puttering in the kitchen getting reacquainted with spices and slow cooking and making SOUP.

Here’s a failsafe autumnal soup with root veggies & spices + a really delicious pesto to accompany it.

It’s super easy, vegan, immunity boosting & deeply nourishing for our autumnal bodies.

I’ve included my original recipe plus notes on how I adapt the soup depending on what is at hand & how lazy a mood I am in.  I love forgiving, adaptable recipes like this, that can be tweaked & played with and still provide so much goodness.

I hope you like it!

Let me know how you get on in the comments.

Love from my kitchen,
Meredith x

 

Carrot & Sweet Potato Soup
with coriander and cashew nut pesto

Immunity boosting credentials:

> carrots and sweet potatoes are high in beta-carotene

> ginger and garlic are antibacterial and antiviral

> chili is great for warming and stimulating

The zingy pesto keeps it interesting and fresh herbs stimulates your mind and are allegedly great for memory – I usually double the pesto so I have leftovers for the fridge.

Serves 6 / Prep 15 min / Cook 30min

Ingredients:

2tbsp olive oil
I never measure this just cover the bottom of the pot, often substitute rapeseed oil or ghee as better nutritionally.

6 carrots, peeled and diced
I never peel them.

2 med-large sweet potatoes peeled and diced

1 lg onion, diced

1 red chili pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
If you like chili, I have used up to 2 or 3 for a more spicy soup, you can also put some chopped chili aside & put it on the top of the soup when serving

3 lg cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
I roast a lot of garlic in the autumn/winder and often have it on hand so would use that if so

2.5cm fresh ginger root, peeled and finely grated
I probably use more than this, like 2 inches

1l of veg stock, OK to add more

2 tbsp of fresh coriander
I always include the stalks because I like the taste

Pesto:
75g fresh coriander, stems and leaves
I have used many other combos of herbs, like basil, thai basil, anything leafy and it always turns out great

25g parsley, leaves only

1/4 red chili, deseeded and finely chopped
sometimes more especially if someone in the house has cold coming on

1 stick of lemongrass, outer stalk removed, finely chopped
SO nice to add, but I almost never add this because I forget to buy it so don’t let it stop you if you don’t have lemongrass

1 lg clove of garlic, peeled finely chopped
again I would sub roasted if I had it but then the raw garlic has a great kick and is SO beneficial to immunity

1 tbsp chopped cashed nuts
I probably add more than that

juice of 1/2 lime

100ml olive oil
I never measure it, just glug it in, mix and add to get a consistency I like

pinch of sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

Method:

1.  Heat the olive oil (or rapeseed oil or ghee) in lg saucepan.  Add carrot, sweet potato, onion, chili, garlic, ginger and season with good pinch of S&P.  Sweat the veggies on a low heat until a bit tender then add stock and bring to a boil.  Cook until veggies are totally tender – I usually give that about 20 mins.  I often add some cinnamon to the cooking veggies, another immunity booster & a well known mood booster

2.  While the veggies are cooking, make the pesto by whizzing all the ingredient together.  I always make extra and eat a bit while cooking

3.  Add the fresh coriander to the soup and whizz it up, then pour into bowls and drizzle each bowl with about a teaspoon of the pesto.

My serving suggestions:

Can defo just have the soup + pesto but here are a few things I do with it to make a more substantial meal or feed friends…

> Nice sourdough goes great or oatcakes, pita

> Goats cheese or feta or even a round of fresh mozzarella either on the bread, sometimes warmed in the oven or I pop the cheese on top of the soup (obvs cheese makes it not vegan).

> A drizzle of olive oil or rapeseed oil on top of the pesto looks nice & is good for you.  I’ll put left over chili in a bottle with olive oil to drizzle as an option for people to make it hotter.

> Thin shavings or grated parmesean or pecorino cheese on top of soup is a winner too ~ sometimes I add these cheeses to the pesto as well

ENJOY!
Let me know how you get on in the comments and any crafty substitutions you come up with 😉