Zingy carrot soup

Photo: www.bbcgoodfood.com

Ingredients
2 tsp cumin seeds
pinch chili flakes
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 leek or large onion, halved length ways, thinly sliced
A couple of rashers of streaky bacon, chopped
600 g carrots, peeled, chopped
4 cm piece ginger, peeled, grated
Zest from a small orange
2 cups vegetable stock
2 cups water
1 tsp salt
Fresh dill or coriander, light sour cream or plain yogurt, to serve

Method
Dry-fry cumin seeds and chili flakes in a large saucepan for 1 min, or until they start to release their aromas. Reserve half cumin seeds and chili to serve.
Add oil to pan over medium heat then add bacon, leek/onion, carrots and ginger. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 5-8 mins, or until onion starts to soften.
Add stock and water, cover and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until carrots are very tender.
Remove from heat, cool slightly then blitz soup until smooth. Return to saucepan and heat over medium-high heat until hot. Season with salt and pepper.
Top with cumin seeds, yogurt or sour cream and dill or coriander leaves.
Chook’s note:  Carrot soup is quite versatile. Play around with the ingredients to suit your taste of the day; the above recipe is a blend of a number of recipes and includes what appealed to me from BBC Good Food and Taste.