Wonderful Carrot and Coriander Soup!

This wonderful soup is fantastic hot on a cold winters night and just as refreshing cold in the dog days of summer. It is a very easy soup to make and holds well in the refrigerator for several days. The combination of the onion, sweet potato, carrots, orange and chile's are amazing and will have your taste buds jumping.

Serve with a dollop of basil or tarragon pesto if you serve it hot or a little sour cream, fresh chopped cilantro and a sprinkle of good chili powder as a garnish if you serve it cold. Enjoy.......

Recipe

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup olive oil
3 # carrots chopped
2 c onion chopped
4 clove garlic chopped
1-2 Serrano chilies chopped (How hot do you like it?)
2 large sweet potatoes chopped
1/4 cup cracked coriander seeds
1 qt vegetable broth
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup grand mariner
2 cups heavy cream
Salt & pepper to taste

Method

In  medium sized stock pot add olive oil and butter, add the carrots, onion, garlic and chile's. Cook vegetable mixture until onions and carrots start to brown lightly. Add sweet potatoes to pot and cook 5 minutes. Add coriander seeds, veggie broth, orange juice, grand mariner and cook until veggies are tender. Puree soup and run through a medium mesh strainer to remove any bits of the coriander seeds (can be hard and a little chewy) and add heavy cream. Mix soup thoroughly and return to heat. Heat soup through and season with salt and pepper.
If you serve the soup hot add a dollop of basil or tarragon pesto. If you are serving it cold add a dollop of sour cream and some fresh chopped cilantro and a sprinkle of good chili powder.