Yesterday was quite the day. Hurricane Ophelia battered the Irish countryside with wind gusts up to 170 km/h and heavy rain. Hundreds were left without water and power, many roads were blocked by debris, and three people lost their lives. Today a massive clean-up operation is under way. Thankfully no harm came to those in our Irish home…and I hope the same is true for you and yours.
RTE Radio One and Met Éireann were fantastic company while the storm raged: entertaining and informing us all day long. Repeatedly we heard things like, “stay off the roads”, “secure your wheelie bins/trampolines”, “stay indoors {and watch The Lion King?!}”, “avoid coastal areas”, and “don’t swim in the sea”. Yes, there were some, dare I say “eejits”, out there swimming and kite surfing in the middle of the hurricane!
Overall, the news reporting was good, old-fashioned, practical. I love that about the Irish: as a whole, they rarely get hysterical and they mostly see the funny side of things.
Case in point…a woman called Joe Duffy’s Liveline yesterday to report “it’s windy here, Joe, good for the drying!”. Only an Irish mammy can be cute {smart} enough to turn a hurricane into a laundry drying exercise. My phone buzzed all afternoon with images sent by friends…thanks to Instagram’s #Ophelia.
Between the fits of giggles and quick messages back and forth, I did manage to eek out a dinner of roast carrot and cumin soup, with a side of bread rolls made from leftover pizza dough {many thanks to thekitchn.com}.
Cumin and roast carrots go beautifully together. In this soup, the cumin provides warmth and fragrant notes, while the roasted carrot adds a hint of sweetness and smokiness. This was and is the perfect stormy-weather meal.
Roasted Carrot and Cumin Soup
Serves 6
Ingredients
600g/1¼lb carrots, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
110g/3/4 cup onion, chopped
150g/1 cup potato, skin left on and chopped
30g/2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon cumin
1.2 litres/4 cups chicken stock
pinch of sugar
salt & pepper to taste
yogurt, crème fraîche or cream to garnish, optional
toasted almonds to garnish, optional
sprig of parsley to garnish, optional
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F.
2. Place carrots in a large bowl, drizzle with olive oil, and season well with salt and pepper.
3. Spread carrots in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast, uncovered, in the oven for 20 minutes or until fully cooked and starting to caramalise. Watch carefully, a little color makes the carrots sweet…too much color and they will taste bitter. Stir occasionally. Remove from the oven and set aside.
4. In a saucepan, melt the butter. When it foams, add the onion, potato, cumin and sugar. Cover with a piece of parchment paper and a tight fitting lid. Leave to sweat gently on low heat for about 10 minutes.
5. Remove the lid. Discard the parchment paper. Add the roasted carrots and stock. Bring to the boil for 5 minutes.
6. Pour everything into a liquidizer (blender) and purée until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning.
7. Serve with a garnish of cream, crème fraîche or yogurt, parsley and toasted nuts.
Additional Notes, Related Articles & Credit:
* Fun carrot facts can be found here, here, and here.
** Growing carrots is easy. Learn how to grow them in your home… here.
***Gorgeous carrot photos (carrot porn!) can be seen over at Pinterest.
In an Irish Home 