Margaret, a sangha member from the US, drops in once a year for Rohatsu sesshin. One time, she was helping me in the kitchen as I was preparing soup for the evening meal. There were lots of carrots on the counter, but was uncertain which way the soup wanted to go. Dill, curry, red pepper, coriander? She asked if we’d ever tried carrot with apple? At first it sounded rather an odd combination, but then – as I always associate the colder regions of the US with lovely, autumnal soups – thought why not? Turned out it was quite a wonderfully fresh soup; not at all what one might expect. If you like lemon-ginger tea, you will love this!

The soy cream bridges the sweetness of the carrots to the brightness of the lemon, but feel free to use any kind of unsweetened cream, or skip all together.

Ingredients

600 g (6 medium) carrots
300 g (2 medium) apples
½ cup cooked, drained chick peas
2 bay leaves
30 g (3 tablespoons) fresh ginger
¼ teaspoon turmeric
Pinch saffron
1¼ litres (5 cups) water
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt to taste
Dash white pepper
4 tablespoons soy cream 
Parsley to garnish

Method

• Peel and slice the carrots into rounds.
• Peel and dice the apples.
• Peel and mince the ginger.
• Grate the lemon zest and press the juice. (About one lemon.)

• Put the carrots, apples, chick peas, ginger, bay leaves, turmeric, saffron, and water with a little salt together in a soup pot. Cover with a lid, bring to a gentle boil over a medium flame, turn the flame low and simmer for 15–20 minutes or until the carrots are very tender.
• Remove the bay leaves.
• Stir in the lemon juice and zest.
• Whiz until perfectly smooth in a food processor, or with an immersion blender.
• Season to taste with salt and white pepper.
• Just before serving, stir in the soy cream or serve as a garnish.
• Garnish with freshly chopped parsley.