Sweet Potato and Carrot Cream Soup

The leaves are beginning to turn, the orange pumpkins are on display along our country roads and the temperatures are dropping. This is a dish for the time of year.

What you need

• 2 sweet potatoes, about 500 g, cut into cubes
• 3 largish carrots, about 350g, cut into cubes (go by proportion and weight rather than number of items)
• 2 tblsp rapeseed or sunflower oil
• 1 tblsp Madras Curry
• 1 tblsp garlic and ginger pulp (equal amounts of garlic and fresh ginger, keeps in the fridge if made in larger portions)
• ½ medium sized onion, finely chopped
• vegetable stock
• optionally, 1 handful of garden peas
• 1 handful of walnuts, pecan nuts or almonds, coarsely chopped and roasted (without fat in a frying pan)
• 200 ml cream, whipped for a more frothy texture of this soup.

What you do

1. In a heavy pan, heat the oil and add the curry powder, the onions and the ginger/garlic pulp.
2. Add the sweet potatoes and the carrots and stir until they are evenly coated.
3. Cover with vegetable stock (more liquid can be added if you prefer a slightly less thick soup), and simmer until the vegetables are soft.
4. Put in the liquidiser or puré with a hand mixer.
5. Return to the pan and add the peas if you use them allowing them to simmer for a few minutes (I like them when they are still pretty hard.
6. Put a portion of whipped cream into the soup bowls and gently add the soup. 
7. Sprinkle with the roasted nuts and serve with a chunk of fresh bread. 

Remark

 A recipe for my lovely wife Caroline’s Apple Bread, which is also very seasonal and compliments this slightly sweet-tasting soup ideally, will follow soonest.