199. Roasted Carrot Soup

A few weeks ago I saw JLSS open the lid of a soup mug and mix some green stuff into an orange puree.  The vibrant colors immediately drew me in and I had to know what she was eating.  (We were at a picnic and JLSS had brought some allergy-appropriate choices for her and the baby, and the big brothers.)  It was roasted carrot soup – with her own lime-cilantro chutney on top.  I immediately came home and looked at the recipe – it sounded  a little more complicated than I could handle since I was going for minimal heat-source interaction.  So I roasted some veggies of my own in coconut oil, covered them with broth and pureed them with my immersion blender.  I thought it was delicious on Day 1, but I put it in the freezer over the weekend and had it for lunch today (Day 4) and it was fantastic.  I could taste the hint of coconut and the addition of lime-cilantro chutney (Thanks, JLSS) was wonderful.  I also added a dollop of almond cream since I’m out of cashews, so I made almond cream instead, and I wanted something non-dairy and creamy to mix in to my soup and cool it down and add a nice texture.  The garnishes are obviously optional, but I have to put a good word in for the lime-cilantro chutney (so easy, too!) and if you do dairy you could always put some Greek yogurt on top.

Roasted Carrot Soup

Inspired by the Food52 recipe and my friend JLSS
Serves 3-4.  Preheat oven to 400, prep your veggies by cutting into small(ish ) chunks get your immersion blender out and put a big pot on the stove

• 3 large carrots – mine were scary large…they might have been more like 5 of the normal size carrots
• 1 beet
• 1 zucchini
• ¼-1/8 of an onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• salt & pepper
• coconut oil
• 1 can chicken broth

• Raw almonds – I used about a cup since I needed more for other things.
• Cilantro
• Lime

 Garnishes:

• Almond Cream – follow instructions for Simple Cashew Cream, but keep it thick and plain. 
• Cilantro-Lime Chutney – put cilantro in a spice blender and squeeze fresh lime over it.  Season with salt and pepper – blend.

Instructions:

Toss your veggies (besides the carrots, the other veggies are flexible.  I had a zucchini and a beet on hand, but I would not hesitate to use others) with coconut oil, salt and pepper.  Roast at 400 for 30 minutes.  Pour the roasted veggies (including the onion and garlic) into a pot.  Cover with a can of chicken broth plus one can of water.  Bring to a boil then turn the heat down and simmer for 15 minutes.  Puree with an immersion blender.  Top with almond cream and cilantro-lime chutney – enjoy!

Do you remember my Green Soup?  It’s so easy – no measuring required, just frozen veggies

28. Green Soup