Carrot and Sage Cream Soup Topped with Hazelnuts and Crispy Sage

Serves 4:

• 600-700 g of sweet carrots, preferably organic, topped, peeled and cut in to chunky rounds
• one small celery stick (or a half), chopped
• 1/4 of an onion, chopped
• 1 small or medium potato, peeled and chopped
• 2 sage leaves, secured with a cooking twine
• 500 ml of vegetable or light chicken stock
• a few pinches nutmeg to taste
• salt
• a knob of butter
• 1 generous tablespoon of olive oil

For the crispy sage:

• sage leaves, 3-4 per portion
• vegetable oil

Garnish:

• roughly chopped toasted hazelnuts
• black pepper
• olive oil

In a medium saucepan heat up the butter along with the olive oil.

Add the chopped onion and celery, and fry gently for about 5 minutes.

Add the potatoes and after a few minutes add the carrots.

Fry everything for further 2 minutes stirring every so often, making sure not to burn the onion.

Cover the vegetables with the stock adding the sage leaves; season with some salt and the nutmeg.

Cook the soup slowly with the lid on until all the ingredients turn soft. Take the sage leaves out and discard.

Blend all the ingredients into a thick creamy soup.

Pour the cream carrot soup back into the saucepan and adjust the seasoning.

In the meantime prepare the crispy sage leaves:

Pour some vegetable oil into a small frying pan. Heat it up on a medium heat and once it’s hot enough (but not burning) lay flat the sage leaves and fry on both sides for a couple of minutes or until crispy.

Take the leaves out and place them on a sheet of paper towel.

To serve:

Pour the warmed up carrot cream soup into individual soup plates or bowls.

Garnish with a little bit of black pepper, chopped hazelnuts as well as the sage leaves.

Drizzle some olive oil on top and serve immediately.