Easy Thai Carrot Soup - Vegan Family Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Why is my carrot soup bland? ›

Why is my carrot soup bland? You may need to add more salt and pepper. I like to taste the soup along the way, and if it needs some salt or pepper, I'll add it. Don't be shy!

Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onions, carrots and garlic, sauté for 4 mins, until they are beginning to soften but not colour. Stir in the ground coriander and plenty of seasoning and cook for 1 min. Add the stock and bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 20 mins or until the carrots are really tender.

Carrots are rich in vitamin A and beta-carotene and, to a lesser extent, vitamins B, C, and E, as well as minerals such as potassium, manganese, phosphorous, magnesium, zinc, and calcium. Maria is an impatient cook, so she lets the carrots cook just until tender—the minimum amount of time.

The process of roasting the carrots in the oven prior to blending them gives this soup a more intense flavor. Roasting carrots condenses their flavor and brings out their sweetness by caramelizing the natural sugars found within them.

At the heart of this soup are carrots, packed with beta-carotene. Upon cooking, the carrots release carotenoids that convert to Vitamin A, a crucial nutrient that supports vision and eye health. Vitamin A also regenerates damaged collagen, keeping your skin looking youthful and fresh.

Add flour or cornflour

Put a tablespoon of either into a small bowl and stir in 2-3 tbsp of the soup until you have a smooth mixture. Stir this back into the soup and bring it to a simmer. Cook for a few minutes to allow the starch granules to burst to thicken, and to cook out any flour flavour.

While certain vegetables can work just fine added directly to simmering soups and stews (say, carrots and celery), other vegetables (onions, garlic, and the like) will almost always need at least a brief sweat in a fat-based liquid before adding the remaining ingredients.

If your carrots feel slimy and look discolored, are wilting or soft, or show signs of mold, they should be tossed. The white blush on carrot skin is OK to eat—it just means the carrots are drying out and need water. Unpeeled carrots are protected by the skin.

But once those vegetables are exhausted, they're strained and switched out for a fresh set of thinly sliced celery and carrot. These are added for the final 4–5 minutes of cooking so that they're tender but nowhere near mushy. You get the sweet luxury of long-cooked vegetables and the freshness of crisp-tender ones.

What makes carrots taste better? ›

Roasting really brings out carrots' best qualities. To make them, just toss carrots with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake until they're golden on the edges and tender throughout.

Foods that have a great deal of acidity, like lemon juice, vinegar, white wine, and tomato puree, can help liven up the flavor of bland-tasting bone and other broths. "The acidity of these ingredients works to complement and enhance the broth's flavors, not mask it.

Let the Broth Evaporate and Cook Longer

If your broth tastes thin and bland, you may want to cook and let it evaporate for longer. That helps concentrate its flavors and gives you a better-tasting soup broth. Be sure to remove the lid to let the steam escape.

There are a few possibilities for why your carrots aren't as sweet as they should be. You are right to think about your soil--a crop of carrots can deplete a soil of nutrients. Be sure to rotate crops in your garden, rather than planting carrots in the same place year after year.

The secret is to roast them.

Roasting draws out the natural sweetness and you get a nice caramelized flavor. They're so much better than boiled carrots!