Karen Wright: A pre dinner starter with a delicate flavour

I always prepare a starter. In fact, last year I prepared three, which was a bit over the top really.

We had a choice of prawn cocktail, pâté or soup. We have three vegetarians and one vegan as part of our party so as you can imagine they chose the soup option.

This year I am just serving soup again. I know some people think that soup is a bit hearty before a big dinner, but I disagree, if it is a modest portion with delicate flavour I think it is perfect.

I made my soup last week and have frozen it in two portion tubs that can be squeezed into small spaces in the freezer.

I made a vegan soup which should tick all the boxes for everyone.

It started as a root vegetable soup but then I enhanced it with a little mild curry powder, fresh dill and I finished it with a can of coconut milk. The taste is indeed delicate, almost like a very fragrant and mild Thai curry. Of course if this is not your bag you can customise it easily to your own taste.

This is how I made it.

I chopped up a large onion, five carrots, a couple of potatoes, a few sticks of celery and a big leek. I put all the veg into a big pan and covered then with water and brought it to the boil and then simmered until everything was tender.

I added a vegetable stock pot, a handful of fresh dill and some garlic purée before blending it with my stick blender until it was very smooth. At this point I seasoned it with salt and pepper.

This was when I changed it from vegetable soup to a fragrant Asian inspired soup by adding a tablespoon of mild curry powder (which I made into a paste by mixing it with a little bit of water) and a can of coconut milk and brought the soup back to a simmer.

On the big day I will defrost, reheat and finish with a splash of dry sherry!