Currabinny cooks: A recipe for perfect carrot and coriander soup and bread to go with it

Plus our yummy roasted carrots with flatbreads

Warming, comforting and delicious - carrot and coriander soup is hard to beat. Picture: Bríd O'Donovan

We recently discovered bog carrots at our local greengrocers here in Dublin. They come encrusted in thick black boggy earth, orange skin barely visible. There is very little I have managed to find out about the growing of carrots in bogs, other than that there are a handful of producers such as Downes Farm in Mullingar who supply a few select greengrocers around the country. I would usually have assumed, bogland as poor land for cultivation, but trust us when we say, bog carrots are the best you will ever taste. 

The sticky earth that encases the carrots of course keep the carrots fresher for longer and seem to ensure carrots of the most vibrant orange colour. Scrubbing away the dirt and giving them a scant peel, the flavour is intensely carroty with subtle earthy notes of smoke and leather. The first thing we did with the bog carrots was to give them a simple glaze by slowly cooking them in butter, sugar and salt. Excited by our new discovery we endeavoured to eat these bog carrots for the whole week.

If you can’t find bog carrots, do not despair, our climate is generally well suited to growing delicious carrots, so most you will find in greengrocers and farmer's markets will be delicious. If you are growing your own, this is the perfect time of year to sow. Plant seeds directly into the ground rather than transplanting and be patient as the seeds can take up to three weeks to germinate. We plant ours in a series of plastic Ikea barrels (make sure to punch drainage holes in the bottom) next to our raised beds, which provide a deep enough trough for nice sized carrots to grow. We love using the leafy, peppery leaves in salads or as a herb in sauces like pesto.

For this week's recipes, we wanted to perfect some old classics but also try something a little different. Carrots are one of the most versatile foods you can have in your kitchen and they are available all year round. They offer sweetness to whatever dish they are in, whether it is sweet or savoury. Carrots are easy to season, a little sugar to bring out the sweetness, coriander of course is a carrot's best friend, orange juice, chervil, parsley, caraway, cumin and mustard the list goes on. Try the following recipes which hopefully show a good range of joyous things carrots can bring to a dish.

Cheesy carrot bread

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

As lovers of rough, vegetable bread we decided to do a few experiments. This delicious, bright orange bread is made with carrots, paprika and plenty of delicious Irish Cheddar.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 60 mins

Cooking Time

 31 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 31 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 1 tsp of dried yeast

• 120ml of warm water

• 250g cream flour

• 120g carrot, grated

• 2 eggs

• 50ml olive oil

• 1 tbsp of sugar

• Good pinch of sea salt

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• 150g grated Irish Cheddar such as Derg or Coollattin

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C Dissolve yeast in warm water for 10 minutes. In a large bowl mix together flour, carrots, eggs, paprika, sugar, sea salt, olive oil and cheese. Pour in the yeast water and mix well into a rough sticky dough. Add more flour if needed for handling. Place a cloth over the dough and leave to rise in a warm place for around 1 hour.

2. Once risen, rub some oil into a cake tin or ovenproof pan and place the dough on the pan. Place in the oven for 30 minutes until cooked through.

Carrot and coriander soup

Perfecting this classic recipe should be within every good home cook's wheelhouse.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 30 mins

Course

 Side

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped

• 6-8 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped

• 1 stick of celery, finely chopped

• 1 clove of garlic, crushed

• 1 litre of good vegetable stock

• 1 tsp ground coriander

• Sea salt and black pepper

• 80g butter

• Vegetable oil

• Crème Fraiche to serve

Method

1. Heat a little oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and stir around, until soft. Add the butter along with the ground coriander and cook for a further two minutes. Add the carrots and celery next, season, cooking everything together, stirring regularly for around 5-6 minutes.

2. Pour in the stock (which should be hot) and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and leave to simmer for around 20 minutes. Blitz with a hand held blender until quite smooth ( we tend to leave it a little lumpy). Season again with a little sea salt ancd plenty of black pepper. Serve in deep bowls with a dollop of crème fraiche in each.

Roasted spiced carrots with flatbreads

This is a wonderful little vegetarian lunch to whip up during a busy week. It might seem complicated making your own flatbreads (by all means buy them if you wish) but we promise it couldn’t be easier if you plan ahead.

Servings

2

Preparation Time

 18 mins

Cooking Time

 40 mins

Total Time

 58 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon of coriander seeds

• 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds

• 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds

• 4 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly

• 1 tablespoon of pumpkin seeds

• 1 tablespoon of sunflower seeds

• Two springs of rosemary

• Two sprigs of thyme

• Good vegetable stock (around 150ml)

• 6 medium sized carrots, peeled and halved lengthways

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

• Sea salt

• Pinch of chilli flakes (optional)

• For the flatbread:

• 125g strong white bread flour

• ½ teaspoon of quick dried yeast

• 2 teaspoons of olive oil

• 80ml of water (approx)

• 1 teaspoon of sea salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

2. First make the flatbreads by combining the flour, yeast, sea salt and oil in a large bowl. Slowly pour the water in until the dough comes together. You may not need all of the water. The dough should be a little sticky but not too sticky to handle. Turn out onto a well-floured surface and knead for around 5 minutes until the dough is soft. Place back into the cleaned-out bowl and place a tea towel over it while you make the rest of the dish.

3. Toast the coriander, fennel and cumin seeds in a dry pan over medium high heat for a couple of minutes until fragrant. In a large bowl mix together the carrots, toasted spices, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sliced garlic, olive oil, chilli flakes if using and a good pinch of sea salt. The carrots and seeds should all be well coated in spices and seasoning. Tip out into a medium sized roasting tin along with the rosemary and thyme and place in the oven for around 35-40 minutes. You should toss everything around the pan a couple of times during the cooking.

4. Cook the flatbreads in the meantime. Turn the dough back onto your work top and divide into 4 pieces, shaping each one into a ball with your hands. Heat a large frying pan over medium high heat. Using your fingers, tease the balls into flatbreads, as you would pizza dough. Place on the hot pan in batches, 2 minutes each side.

5. Remove the carrots from the oven and serve with the flatbreads.