Warming autumn kitchen: vegetarian carrot soup with roasted carrots, carrot juice and ginger (with vegan alternative)
The work project has finally been completed and I had decided to stand in the kitchen all day and/or to prepare blog posts.
Instead of raving about the Californian sun and getting a long nose, I'll bring you a fine autumn recipe first. Today was such a wonderful autumn day with a lot of sun and blue sky and a lot of being outdoors. What could be nicer than coming home, cuddling up on the sofa and eating a nice warm soup?
Even with the roast tomato sauce, I've discovered that much in roasted form simply tastes better. And what applies to tomatoes can not be so wrong with carrots! How deliciously roasted carrots taste out of the oven, I have already reported with my vegan rice dish with tofu - the carrots are very tender and soft and sweet and just delicious. To make a soup out of it is an increase, I can tell you! Do you like "normal" carrot soup from boiled carrots? Try the version with the roasted aromas. Unbelievable!
The effort is of course a bit bigger: the carrots are first in the oven and then in the pot, but the wait is worthwhile and makes sense even after work. You will be rewarded with a wonderfully creamy, velvety soup with very wonderful aromas, without many ingredients.
My carrots are called "wild carrots" and come from the farmer. I rather believe that this is an invention of the farmer, but they are strongly reminiscent of the big sugar-cane. I really like them and I highly recommend the use of regional and seasonal carrots, which are now everywhere!
One of the few, but all the more effective, ingredients is ginger. You do not taste it too much, but it gives you another great kick. If you really do not like ginger, just leave it off and maybe just increase or supplement the herbal portion.
Instead of pure broth and pureed carrots, another highlight is the addition of carrot juice! You can either do it yourself, if you have a juicer or buy in organic quality. I really like Alnatura's organic carrot juice (personal recommendation!) And I also drink it in between.
In the basic version, the soup is vegan, if you use a vegan vegetable broth. I think it's even smarter to add some Greek yogurt or sour cream to serve.3-4 servings
Ingredients
750 g carrots (peeled and weighed without root ends)
2 small shallots
1 garlic clove
1 sprig of thyme, peeled off the leaves
500-750 ml vegetable broth (preferably homemade or in organic quality)
350 ml carrot juice (see above)
1 piece of ginger, about 3 cm thick, peeled
extra virgin olive oil - sea salt, freshly ground black pepper - about 50 g of Greek yoghurt or sour cream, smoothly stirred - about 1 Tl chive rolls
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 200 ° C top and bottom heat.
Put some olive oil on a baking sheet or in a large roasting pan.
Slice the prepared carrots diagonally into 2-3 cm thick slices and distribute evenly on the plate. They should not be stacked on top of each other.
Sprinkle with extra olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Roast for 30 minutes on the middle rack in a preheated oven, mixing well halfway through the time.
Add 500 ml vegetable stock and the carrot juice and boil the mixture once.
Remove the roasted carrots from the oven and put them carefully into the soup. Also add the ginger piece (if you prefer to use a blender to prune it first cut into several small pieces), bring to the boil again and simmer gently over low heat for about 10 minutes.
Then puree with a blender directly in the pot or the mixture Transfer to a blender. I have them in the Thermomix transferred and super fine mashed.
The consistency of the soup is very thick and creamy in the 500 ml vegetable broth. If you prefer a slightly more liquid soup, you can add a little more of the fresh vegetable broth and bring the soup to a boil again.
Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
The soup to serve with a dollop of Greek yoghurt or Sour cream and sprinkle with chives.
You can also super cool the carrot soup after cooling (and before serving with the yogurt!).