Carrot and Mint Soup

Serves: 6
Prep time: 15mins
Cooking time: 30 mins

Ingredients
2 tbsp vegetable oil
500g carrots, sliced
2 sticks celery, chopped
1 onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 litre vegetable stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp cornflour
2 tsp mint, chopped

To garnish
mint sprigs
croutons

Method

Warm the oil in a large, heavy based pan.

Add the carrots, celery, onion and garlic and cook gently until soft.

Add the stock then bring to the boil and simmer for 25 minutes.

Puree with a stick blender, or allow to cool until safe to puree in a food processor or liquidiser.

Return the soup to a clean pan and gently heat back to a simmer.

Mix the cornflour with 2 tbsp of water to form a smooth paste, then stir into the hot soup.

Continue stirring until slightly thickened then add the chopped mint and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Garnish with mint and serve with croutons.