Carrot and cheddar soup

Recipe by:

The particular salty, piquant flavour you get from cheddar enhances the natural earthy sweetness of carrots - enjoy this punchy soup with crusty bread

Carrot and cheddar soup

SERVES

6

PEOPLE

PREP TIME

10

MINUTES

COOKING TIME

20

MINUTES

CUISINE

COURSE

Starter

Method

  1. In a large saucepan over a medium high heat, melt the butter along with a little olive oil and add the diced onion, cooking till soft. Add the carrot and celery to the pan and cook for a further 10 minutes.

  2. Stir the flour into the buttery vegetables.

  3. Warm the milk and add to the pan, stirring well to form a thick sauce. Pour in the vegetable stock and bring the whole soup to a boil before lowering the heat and leaving the mixture to simmer for a couple of minutes. Stir in the mixture and check the seasoning, adding sea salt and black pepper if needed. Blitz well with a hand blitzer until relatively smooth and velvety.

  4. Stir in the cheddar to the simmering soup. Be extremely mindful not to let the soup get close to boiling or bubbling. Take off the heat, add the parsley and a little cream or dollop of crème fraîche.

  5. Serve with lots of buttered white crusty bread.

Ingredients

  • 2 medium onions, finely diced

  • 2 large carrots, peeled and finely diced 

  • 1 stick of celery, finely diced 

  • 50g butter 

  • 400ml milk 

  • 40g flour 

  • 600ml veg stock 

  • 1 tsp mustard 

  • 400g strong mature cheddar, grated 

  • a good handful of parsley, chopped 

  • sea salt

  • black pepper 

  • a little olive oil 

  • a little cream or crème fraiche to serve 

Method

  1. In a large saucepan over a medium high heat, melt the butter along with a little olive oil and add the diced onion, cooking till soft. Add the carrot and celery to the pan and cook for a further 10 minutes.

  2. Stir the flour into the buttery vegetables.

  3. Warm the milk and add to the pan, stirring well to form a thick sauce. Pour in the vegetable stock and bring the whole soup to a boil before lowering the heat and leaving the mixture to simmer for a couple of minutes. Stir in the mixture and check the seasoning, adding sea salt and black pepper if needed. Blitz well with a hand blitzer until relatively smooth and velvety.

  4. Stir in the cheddar to the simmering soup. Be extremely mindful not to let the soup get close to boiling or bubbling. Take off the heat, add the parsley and a little cream or dollop of crème fraîche.

  5. Serve with lots of buttered white crusty bread.