Week 17: Curried Carrot Soup with Coconut Milk, Cashews, & Coriander

I thought it was about time for soup. Next week's forecast for Vancouver is looking unseasonably warm (10 degrees Celsius), but quite soggy. For Kitchener, quite the opposite: -6 degrees, and sunny. Either way, perfect for a warm pick-me-up. This week's recipe was pulled from The Chez Piggy Cookbook, a book of recipes from the famed Kingston restaurant of the same name. It's the kind of cookbook that I have never cooked from before due to a combination of bewilderment and utter lack of confidence with what seemed like very grown-up ingredients. Now that we're on week seventeen of our culinary adventure, I think we just might be ready.

Ingredients (for 5-6 servings):

1.5 Tbsp butter or olive oil
1 onion, diced
1.5 stalk celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 inch piece fresh ginger, chopped
1 Tbsp. curry powder
3/4 lb. carrots, peeled and grated
3 cups chicken stock
1 kaffir lime leaf
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 bunch fresh coriander, chopped, for garnish
1/4 cup chopped cashew pieces for garnish

Preparation:

Heat butter or oil in a large pot, and saute onions, celery, garlic and ginger over medium heat. Add curry powder, and continue cooking until onions are soft. Add carrots, and saute. Add stock and lime leaf, and simmer until carrots are fully cooked. Stir in coconut milk, and heat through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with coriander and cashews.