Roasted Carrot Soup

Recipe Difficulty: Easy

Recipe Tags:
Roasted Carrot Soup
Vegan Soup
Healthy Recipes
Easy Recipes
​Whole Foods

Roasted Carrot Soup
Roasting Carrots before using them in a soup is a great way to intensify their flavour and bring out their natural sweetness. This roasted carrot soup is one that I make specifically when I want to feel great. It's incredibly delicious and made from predominately whole foods. This carrot soup is also  perfectly spiced with a bit of cumin & coriander. I often add cashew cream or nut butters to my soups for added richness/creaminess but this one doesn't need it. This soup simply starts with carrots roasted in olive oil, then I also use a generous amount of olive oil for sweating the onions and garlic (a whole head of garlic in fact). The result, dare I say, is a luscious soup that I find to be addictively good.  A touch of maple and a squeeze of lemon adds the right balance of sweet and acidity.

Roasted Carrot Soup Garnish
To garnish my carrot I don't want much. I had it with a bit of chopped parsley and I found it only detracted from the flavours I was loving in my carrot soup. I opened my cupboard and found a bottle of generic lemon oil I had unopened, a drizzle of that and a sprinkle of cracked pepper was the perfect finish. Of course, alongside, I always want a good loaf of multigrain bread. I ripped off rustic chunks, drizzled them with olive oil, and popped them in the oven at 425F. I just make sure each side is toasty and golden. A few minutes per side.

For the Best Roasted Carrot Soup use homemade Veg Stock
If you want your soups to be really good, starting with a homemade vegetable stock is key. I simply save scraps of onion, celery, carrot, garlic, mushroom, tomato, parsley in a 10 lb bag in my freezer. Once it is mostly full, I dump the contents into a large stock pot, top with water, and simmer gently for at least 45 minutes. I often turn it off and go accomplish other tasks or errands, then I'll fire it back on awhile later, strain, discard solids and reserve the liquid for whatever purpose. I like to keep stock in my freezer for soup making. I typically add my veg stock to the pot again after it is strained (cleaning out any veg scraps that have stuck to the sides first), then I put it back on the heat to simmer and reduce. This accomplishes two things. 1. You are left with a smaller amount of liquid which takes up less space in your freezer. 2. It creates a concentrated flavour base that to me is irreplicable. Store bought stock is never as good...and I doubt it is as nutritious either. You have the added benefit of reducing kitchen waste by using scraps, not to mention utilizing all of the nutrients in the veg scraps that would otherwise hit the bin. I don't know about you, but with the cost of groceries these days I am always keen to save wherever I can. 

Final Consistency of Soups
I'm picky about the final texture of pureed soups. Pureed soups in my mind should be thick, creamy, but also fluid. I like it to easily pour from my ladle, not stick to my spoon.  If it is too thick, I feel like I am eating just a bowl of pureed vegetables.

If I were trying to be really precise about the texture, I'd strain the soup through a chinois. (fine mesh strainer) Then, probably put it back on the stove to reduce a bit. You can get really smooth silky texture by straining your soups, but you are losing out on some of the fiber, of course.