Soup’s On

Currently in season, widely available and inexpensive, carrots are one of my family’s favourite vegetables. They are very high in vitamins and minerals, most importantly antioxidants such as beta carotene.
Last weekend I couldn’t resist picking up one of the overflowing baskets of fresh, local carrots at a roadside market. My kids grabbed one each to munch on the way home, but I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with the other 30 or so…raw with dips, boiled, steamed or roasted? I already had the oven on, so I decided to toss in a bunch and roast them. They turned out so well I decided to make soup with them. A quick and easy mid-week meal. Here’s what I did:

carrot Roasted Carrot & Ginger Soup
You’ll need

10 carrots, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
3 garlic cloves, halved
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
4 cups (1 litre) vegetable/chicken stock
Salt & pepper to taste

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Toss carrots and garlic with 1 Tbsp olive oil and salt and pepper on baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes.
Remove carrots from the oven and let cool.
In a large soup pot, sauté onion and ginger in 1 Tbsp olive oil until soft.
Chop carrots and add them, plus stock, to the pot.
Simmer for 20 minutes or until carrots are soft.
Remove from heat, cool slightly and, using a blender or food processor, puree until smooth.
Return soup to soup to pot, reheat and serve with a fresh baguette.

What are you doing with the over abundance of seasonal vegetables?