Carrot soup with dill risotto

I really like the big bunches of herbs you can get from ethnic supermarkets and some other independent food stores - so much more vibrant and generous than the few stems in a tiny plastic packet you can get in a supermarket. I put them in the fridge door a jam jar of water and as long as they were in good condition when I bought them, they stay fresh for a week or more.

I hate throwing food away, though, and sometimes devising uses for the whole of a large bunch of herbs is something of a challenge. On this occasion I bought bunches parsley and dill at the same time. The parsley has been finished off but the bunch of dill is proving more difficult to conquer. I bought it for a springlike Greek pie of spinach, feta and dill in filo pastry. This evening, though, it was chilly and decidedly less springlike. And I found a second use for my dill, in an old Rowley Leigh recipe from the Telegraph.

Carrot soup with dill risotto is a bit unusual. I can honestly say it's not only the first time I've put soup and risotto in the same bowl, but also the first time I've put dill in any kind of risotto. And come to think of it, I've never put cloves in vegetable stock before either. I was a bit doubtful about using ten whole cloves, but the flavour worked well as a warming background note without becoming too dominant.

I rather liked the two aspects of the dish, which added an extra dimension of flavour to your standard risotto. The dill flavour helped to tie the two together, but there was also a nice contrast between cheesy, stodgy (in a good way) rice and the cleaner vegetable flavours of the soup.

The whole thing was as comforting and soothing as a warm blanket - just what you want on a cold Monday night. It struck me as a northern European reworking of a Mediterranean classic, risotto - based on root vegetables that you can easily find in February or March, and as warming and substantial as you could ask for. I imagine that you could do variations with other vegetables and herbs - perhaps dill risotto with pea soup, or maybe even a spinach soup. The only downside is, I've still got some dill left. Don't be surprised to see another dill recipe on here soon!

The Rowley Leigh recipe is here, but partly to save you scrolling through two other recipes, and partly because I've varied it a bit, my version is below. I've made it a lot healthier, by leaving out all the butter and just using a touch of vegetable oil for frying. I like risotto without butter in, although if you're one of the people who thinks that risotto must contain butter, you could stir some in at the end. I've also increased the quantity of risotto, because I'm quite greedy, and also because I was eating this as a main course, and I'm not totally sure whether that was Rowley's intention.

Carrot soup with risotto and dill (serves four)

• 1 kilo (2lb 4oz) carrots
• 2 onions
• 2 celery stalks
• 3 bay leaves
• 10 cloves
• 10 peppercorns
• a large sprig of thyme
• 2 to 3 stalks of parsley
• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 250g (9oz) risotto rice
• 1 glass white wine
• 4 dsp fresh chopped dill
• 30g (1oz) grated parmesan (or a little more, to taste)

Peel the carrots and slice them. Fill a large saucepan with two litres (31/2 pints) of cold water and add a small handful of sliced carrot together with one onion, peeled and sliced, the chopped celery, the bay leaves, the cloves, peppercorns, thyme, parsley and salt. Bring this to a simmer and cook gently for half an hour. Strain this vegetable stock into a fresh saucepan and keep it hot.

You now require two more saucepans, one for the soup, one for the risotto. In the first put a teaspoon of oil with the remaining carrots. Turn these together over a lively heat before adding half the vegetable stock. Bring to a boil and then gently simmer, covered, until the carrots are soft.

In the second pan, heat a teaspoon of oil and add the second onion, finely chopped, and cook until soft, then add the rice and stir.

Add the hot vegetable stock, ladle by ladle as it is absorbed, and stir: it will take about 20 minutes of stirring and cooking for the rice to reach the correct al dente stage. I like to add the wine just before the end, as you get the strongest wine flavour, but you can add it earlier if you want it more subtle. If you run out of stock, just add some boiling water.

Once both the carrots and risotto are cooked, blend the carrots and their cooking liquid plus two spoonfuls of the risotto with a stick blender. Blend this very well until completely smooth. If still a little thin, add more risotto to achieve a good, thick consistency. Return the soup to the pan, add half the chopped dill and season to taste.

Return the risotto to the heat with a little more stock, though the risotto should not be too wet. Once hot and the rice is cooked, add the parmesan and the rest of the dill. Season to taste (you can add a bit more cheese if you wish) and then spoon the risotto into four soup plates. Pour the hot soup around and serve.