New Covent Garden's Soup of the Month competition - Recovery

Last month, I told you (here) all about New Covent Garden and their fun competition, giving you the opportunity to create a brand new Soup of the Month, corresponding to a theme which changes every month. Last month's theme for inspiration was Valentine's Day and I came up with Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot Spicy Nacho Soup.

This month's theme was a touch more challenging : Recovery. They explain : "In partnership with our good friends at the RNLI, we’re looking for the best soups that you turn to when you need a booster, be it from an illness, a tough day at work, a killer session at the gym or just to warm up after a cold autumn's day. The theme is wide open for you to interpret as you please, and don’t forget that the RNLI will be getting a share of the sales from the winning soup, so not only do you get to brag about winning but you also help the charity and support the work that they do too."

Well, the obvious choice is chicken soup - then I wondered if I could play on the Chicken Soup for the Soul name and introduce Dover sole, which would nicely tie in with the RNLI and the sea too. I wondered about honey and lemon, the classic combination for sore throats, and starting thinking laterally, coming up with interesting ingredient ideas like lemon grass, lemon chicken, honey-roast ham and honeydew melon. The idea of a spicy soup to blast away winter chills and help you sweat out the flu crossed my mind but I did a spicy soup last month. I had a look online to see which ingredients could have health-promoting properties - garlic (for the circulation), ginger (for settling the stomach), vegetables (for the vitamins), Manuka honey, spinach (well, it does wonders for Popeye !) ...After a lot of headscratching, I came up with the following ...

Warming Ginger Carrot Soup

a big knob of butter (don't be rude !)

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

2 sticks celery, chopped

3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

a large piece of fresh ginger, grated

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

1kg carrots, peeled and sliced

1 litre chicken stock

100ml white wine

salt to taste

Melt the butter in a large pot, add the onion and celery and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes until the onion and celery soften.

Add the garlic and ginger, saute for 1-2 minutes, then add the coriander and cumin. Stir for another minute.

Add the carrots, wine, and chicken stock.

Cover the pot, bring to a boil, then drop to a simmer and cook until the carrots are soft - about 30-40 minutes.

Once the carrots are soft, puree the mixture until smooth. Season with a pinch of salt.

Sounds perfect for beating the winter chills or making you feel better if you've got the sniffles.

If you'd like to enter your own recipe, or even vote for mine (!), head over to http://www.newcoventgardensoup.com/

Other blogposts you may be interested in :

The Madhouse creates a potential New Covent Garden Soup of the month !

New Covent Garden Summer Soups

PARSNIP AND APPLE SOUP WITH LOSELEY SUMMER MEADOW