This is an easy recipe, you basically just bung all the ingredients in a pot and then get energetic with the immersion blender. I originally planned on making this with a coriander cream but am having a bit of a love affair with Szechaun peppercorns these days. I happened to only have white and yellow carrots to hand, which is why the soup is so pale - not the usual vibrant orange of carrot soups. I made my soup quite thick as befits a dinner soup but you could thin it out with some additional stock if you like a thinner version.
Makes the usual 4 servings, plus 2 additional portions for lunch or freezing purposes.
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock (or water)
5 large carrots, roughly peeled and chopped
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp chili oil (homemade or store bought)
1 tsp Szechuan peppercorns, crushed with the blade of a knife
Salt to taste
Put the stock, carrots and sweet potatoes in a large stock pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook until vegetables are very soft; this could be anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes depending on the size of your vegetable pieces.
Blend well with an immersion blender and return to original pot. Add salt to taste. The soup can be made in advance to this point.
Add the chopped herbs and 2 teaspoons of the chili oil. Stir well and heat well.
Serve topped with a dollop of sour cream, 1/6 of the remaining chili oil and a sprinkling of crushed Szechuan peppercorn.