Stealing Secrets from the French...

I put this recipe together after a trip to France.  About 20 years ago I had lunch in this wonderful little French bistro, and the soup was so delicious, I made a mental note of the flavors, and when I got home I experimented  with the recipe until I got it just right.  The secret to the soup is to use  “Harvey’s Bristol Cream Sherry” any other  cream sherry will work, but it will not give the same results.

Enjoy .

Carrot & Cilantro Soup

2lb Carrots, peeled and cut into 1” pieces

1 bunch fresh Cilantro, washed and roughly chopped

2 medium Red onions, peeled and roughly chopped

4 sticks of Celery. Cleaned and roughly chopped

1/2 stick butter

32oz  home made Chicken Stock

(canned stock will do if home made is not available)

½ cup Harvey’s Bristol Cream Sherry

Sea salt

Freshly ground pepper

In a heavy based pan or Dutch oven, melt the butter over a medium – low heat.  Add the onions, and cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes until soft, but not burnt, then add the celery and carrots, and stir well, add 1 cup of the chicken stock then press a piece of parchment paper low over the vegetables and place the lid on the pan.  Reduce the heat to low and cook for 30-40 minutes, checking occasionally to stir and make sure its not burning.

When all the vegetables are cooked through add the rest of the chicken stock and bring to a slow boil, stirring occasionally. Add the cilantro, sherry, and season with salt and pepper.

Remove from the heat and using an immersion blender, wiz the ingredients to make a thick soup. (If you don’t have an immersion blender, use a liquidizer)

Serve with fresh crusty bread.