Roasted Carrot Soup

Before I left for the holidays, I realized I could cook.

I mean, I have had dinner parties and cooked for myself frequently over the years, but it never occurred to me that I could actually create something wonderful in the kitchen.

I had a bag of organic baby carrots in my fridge on the cusp of their use-by date. I hate throwing away food, and I am typically careful with my purchases. I bought the carrots for the ex, when he was not feeling well, but he never ate them. So, inspiration struck: soup. (I love soup, probably thanks to the amazing creations I have eaten from the Soup Peddler over the years.).

I created my Roasted Carrot Soup based on two posts I read and saved into my google reader “recipe” tag. The first was the Roasted Root Vegetable Stew post from Eclectic Edibles and then I read the Smooth Soups post on Gourmet’s Choptalk. You can find much, much, much better guidance there, but click below for a summary of my dish.

Actual work time is about 10 minutes, but start to finish is almost 2 hours. It’s a perfect lazy afternoon recipe. In fact, I will be making it this lazy afternoon.

Ingredients:

1 pound of carrots

1/2 onion

2 quarts of chicken stock, broth, water, or wine (or a combination thereof)

2 tbs of Herbes de Provence (or Italian Seasoning)

1/2 tsp Sage

Sea Salt

Pepper

Olive Oil

Technique:

Preheat oven to 350º.

Chop carrots into 1/2 inch pieces.

Combine carrots with 1 tbs of Herbes de Provence, ground sea salt, and ground pepper, and olive oil to coat.

Dump carrots on cookie sheet or roasting pan and place pan in oven for 30 minutes. Rotate carrots in pan and roast for additional 30 minutes.

While carrots are roasting, chop 1/2 onion and add it to large stock pot filmed with olive oil. Add 1 tbs Herbes de Provence and ground sea salt and pepper.

Cook onion, stirring frequently, until soft (20-30 minutes).

After carrots are soft, add carrots to soften onions in stock pot with 2 quarts of stock, etc. (I have added up to 1/4 white wine, which was wonderful). Add 1/2 tsp sage.

Simmer for 30 minutes, uncovered.

Blend with immersion blender or blender. Taste and adjust seasonings and (add back to pot) to simmer for another 5 minutes, along with a bit of milk or heavy cream or both or creme fraiche. (I prefer it without, but some enjoy it with added dairy.)

That’s it. It sounds way more complicated than it is. It’s just chopped carrots, roasted, and added to soften onions and some stock. Done.

Actual work time is about 10 minutes, but start to finish is almost 2 hours. It’s a perfect lazy afternoon recipe.