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carrot and cilantro soupGood day to you!

Does that greeting remind you a little of Downton Abbey?

When 9:00 p.m. rolls around on a Sunday, it’s every man, woman and child for his or herself around here.

It’s amazing how quickly a really good writing can just suck you in, even if you’ve not watched the show from the beginning.

A few things to note about my Sunday nights:

At about 8:30 p.m., I begin fervently working on my English accent and attempt to incorporate certain phrases into conversation like, “lady’s maid” and of course, “drunken vicar.”

I’ll admit that those phrases are tough to work into everyday American lexicon, but I still try (it can’t hurt).

Next, I fix a cup of English tea (decaffeinated because a girl’s got to get her beauty rest) and by 8:50 p.m., I’m strenuously fluffing some pillows so I can sit back and enjoy the show in the height of comfort.

Now there are times I wish I had one of the previously mentioned lady’s maids to bring me my hot tea and fluff my pillows, but I just do those myself.

No lady’s maids here.

If you watch the show you may also have some pre-Downton rituals that you subscribe to.  It’s rather like getting ready for the big game and wearing your favorite player’s jersey, warming up the frozen jalapeno poppers and ensuring that you have enough cold beers at the ready.

Similar, no?

Since it’s nearly impossible for me to segue from my Downton Abbey-big game analogy, I’m just going to jump straight away (another English phrase) into today’s Mondays on Main St. recipe.  This one is for carrot and cilantro soup.

carrot soup ingredients

There is a very simple list of ingredients for this soup, which also include vegetable broth and a little olive oil.

carrot and cilantro soup

I pureed the soup in the bowl of my food processor, but I was thinking that a Vitamix would make very quick work of the ingredients.  I’d love to have one of those someday soon.

carrot and cilantro soup

I topped off a serving of the carrot soup with a little chopped cilantro, cracked black pepper and a sprinkling of toasted and crushed coriander seeds.  You can toast the seeds in a small skillet on the stove top.  Very easy.

See you later this week!

Carrot and Cilantro Soup

Ingredients

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

1 small Vidalia (or other sweet onion) onion, chopped

1 tsp coriander seeds, crushed (plus additional for garnish)

1 lb carrots, scraped and sliced

3 1/4 cups vegetable stock

3/4 cup chopped cilantro, plus additional for garnish

Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper

Ingredients

In a Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add onion and coriander seeds and cook until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.  Reduce heat and add carrots.  Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until carrots are tender, stirring occasionally.

Add vegetable stock and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes.  Puree soup in the bowl of a food processor in batches.  Return soup to pot, stir in chopped cilantro and season with salt and black pepper to taste and heat through over low heat.

To serve soup, ladle into individual bowls and top with additional cilantro, toasted coriander seeds and sprinkling of black pepper.

Serves: 4

Allison {Main St. Cuisine}