Patterned Soups

Description
This is one of my signature dishes - I've been using it since the 80's. I found the recipe in one of the local supermarkets own cookbooks, used it to acclaim and it made me famous, with people I hardly knew actually coming up to me and asking me how to do it. (I come from a very backward town!) Very easy, very pretty and unusual and well worth the effort. Oh, and it tastes good, too. On one side of the plate you've got green watercress soup and the other an orange carrot soup.

Watercress soup

 * 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
 * 225 g finely chopped onions
 * 600 ml vegetable stock or water
 * 1 bunch watercress, chopped (approxmixately 100 g. This is a guess because watercress here is simply sold in bunches!)
 * 1 small potato, diced (about 125 g / 4 oz)
 * ½ teaspoon salt
 * ½ teaspoon dried thyme

Carrot soup

 * 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
 * 100 g onions, finely chopped
 * 600 ml vegetable stock or water
 * 350 g carrots, thinly sliced
 * ½ teaspoon salt
 * ½ teaspoon dill seeds
 * milk, a little (for both soups)

Directions

 * 1) You can make this soup 1 – 2 days in advance and chill until required.
 * 2) Make both soups in the same way.
 * 3) Heat the oil in a saucepan over a low heat and cook the onion for 15 minutes until tender, stirring frequently to prevent browning.
 * 4) Add the vegetable stock, watercress and potato or the carrots, salt and thyme or dill.
 * 5) Bring to the boil.
 * 6) Simmer for 15 – 20 minutes.
 * 7) Blend in a liquidizer or food processor (or you could, if you really, really had to, push it through a sieve!)
 * 8) Add enough milk to each soup to give a thick pouring consistency (I don't find it necessary to add much milk).
 * 9) When ready to serve, reheat both soups in separate saucepans.
 * 10) Pour into separate jugs or use saucepans with lips.
 * 11) Carefully pour at the same time with each jug into either size of 6 shallow soup bowls so that each soup fills one half of the plate.
 * 12) This won't be an even divide.
 * 13) Pour a little cream along the line of the divide and give it a garnish of chopped chives, is so wished.