The list of ailments caraway is said to ease is impressive, but it’s the flavour that generally gets my attention. I’ve left the seeds whole here, so that even once blended, you’ll still get little hits of that lovely aniseedy fennel-like flavour, but you could grind the seeds more finely in a pestle and mortar first, if you prefer. Ever the Scandiphile, I’ve taken this north and added salmon and dill to the caraway. If you want to keep it vegetarian you can leave out the salmon, but I’ve personally never been known to turn down smoked salmon in my life.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1¼ tsp caraway seeds
- 1 lb 12 oz (800 g) courgettes [zucchini], sliced
- 3⅓ cups (800 ml) vegetable stock
- ⅓ cup (50 g) easy-cook rice
- 3 Tbsp soured cream
- a small handful of chives, plus extra to serve
- a small handful of dill fronds
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To Serve
- 4 Tbsp soured cream
- 2 Tbsp chopped dill
- 3 oz (80 g) smoked salmon, sliced into thin strips
How to Make It
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan set over a low heat and sauté the onion, garlic and caraway seeds for 10 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the courgettes, stock and rice and cook for 10–12 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the courgettes are softened.
- Meanwhile, combine the soured cream and dill for serving and pop in the fridge until needed.
- Once it’s had its time, transfer the soup to a blender, add the 3 Tbsp soured cream and blitz until smooth. Add the herbs and blitz again briefly to just blend them in (it’s nice to see flecks of them in the soup). Tip the soup back into the cleaned pan and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and top each serving with a spoonful of the dill soured cream. Finish with a scattering of salmon ribbons, a few snipped chives and a good grind of coarse black pepper.