Carrot, orange, dill and parsley soup

Excellent chilled as well as hot, this soup uses aromatic herbs rather than spicy seasonings—another good direction to take with carrots.

Ingredients

SERVES 4 TO 6

• 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 cups diced onion
• 1 pound carrots, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons white rice
• Salt and freshly milled pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 3 tablespoons chopped dill or 1½ tablespoons dried
• Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
• 6 cups water or Basic Vegetable Stock
• Finely chopped dill, chopped parsley, or Herb Butter

Method

MELT the butter in a soup pot and add the pepper, onion, carrots, rice, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook over medium heat, covered, until the onion has softened completely, about 10 minutes, stirring several times. Add a grind of pepper, the parsley, dill, orange zest, juice, and water. Bring to a boil, then simmer, partially covered, until the rice is cooked, about 25 minutes. Cool briefly, then puree all but a cup or two of the soup and return it to the pot. Taste for salt, season with pepper, garnish, and serve.

Notes

Worked out well. Possibly seemed a little watery to begin with but thickened the next day and not such a problem. Refreshing but not strong. No problem to add more dill or parsley I think - so also useful to use up dill, which went well with the orange.