Ingrid van den Arend

Main course soup, serves 4. Preparation time: 25 minutes.

• 1 onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 teaspoons of curry powder
• 500 grams of floury potatoes
• 400 grams of carrots
• 3 beef stock cubes
• 150 grams of cubed feta
• 1 bunch of basil
• salt and pepper
• extra virgin olive oil

Peel and chop the onion and garlic. Heat 1 table spoon of olive oil in a soup pan. Add garlic and onion. Cover and gently braze for 5 minutes at the lowest setting. Add the curry powder and sauté uncovered for a further 3 minutes.
In the meantime, peel the potatoes, keeping 1/5th aside for the croutons. Wash the carrots. Cut the potatoes and carrots into equal pie­ces. Add to the onions in the pan with 1 litre of water and the beef stock cubes. Bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the remaining potatoes into ½ cm square cubes. Rinse them thoroughly, drain and pat dry with a clean tea towel. Heat 1 table spoon of olive oil in a frying pan. Fry the potato cubes over a high heat while stirring (or shaking) until crispy (if you want them browner, add a small knob of butter). Season the cubes well with salt and pepper and drain on kitchen paper.
Puree the soup with a hand blender (if it is too thick, add some more water). Season well with salt and pepper. Serve the soup in 4 deep plates. Garnish with feta, potato croutons and sprinkle with fresh basil (chopped or not).

Tip: Also try finishing it off sometimes with a dash of ginger syrup or a drizzle of honey.

Ingrid van den Arend, Cook it!