Carrot & aniseed soup with hederman smoked butter, miso mushrooms, red rice & hederman’s chilli smoked salmon
William J Cooper
Serves
Carrot and aniseed, cooked to a pulp in Hederman’s beechwood smoked butter then a little chicken stock and pureed so it’s like velvet. Red miso and wild mushrooms, and flakes of chilli crusted hot smoked salmon. Now the clocks have changed this feels perfect for the darker evenings. Finishing the soup (when whizzing) with a couple of dice of the smoked beech butter would be delicious…
Ingredients
For the soup:
• 1 kilo carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 small onion – diced
• 1 tbs fresh grated ginger
• 1 L chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 piece star anise (try to use whole pieces as you will need to pick them out later)
• 1 tbsp red miso
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 50 g Hederman’s Beechwood smoked butter
• sea salt + black pepper
For the mushrooms:
• 250 g mixed wild mushrooms– sliced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp red miso
• 1 small garlic clove– finely chopped
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
For the garnish:
• 250 g red rice cooked drained and kept warm
• 1 pack Hederman’s chilli crusted hot smoked salmon flaked into chunks – use as much as you like in the bowls and keep whatever’s left in the fridge for a snack.
• Sprinkle of Hederman’s smoked paprika
Methodology
Add a little olive oil to large pot and add the onion and the ginger, cook softly without colouring for 5 minutes or so or until the onions are translucent. Add the chopped carrots and anise and cook for about 15 minutes, or until they are soft and turning slightly golden. now add the smoked butter , keeping the heat relatively low as you don’t want to burn the butter. After 5 more minutes, add the miso and maple syrup and stir in well. now add the stock and simmer till the carrots are completely soft.Blend with a stick blender till very smooth and glossy, adding a little more water if you like a thinner consistency, season with salt and pepper to your taste. If you like a little sweeter, then add another spoonful of maple syrup. Keep the soup hot with a lid on.
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, add mushrooms and sauté until golden brown. Stir in the garlic, soy sauce and miso, season with pepper. Give a good stir and take off of the heat.
Pour the soup into bowls, add a little of the red rice, a spoonful of the miso mushrooms, some flakes of the spicy smoked salmon and sprinkle with smoked paprika.
