Cream Of Roasted Carrot Soupcooks Illustrated Recipes

Steps:

• Heat butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat; add carrots, potato, onion, celery, chicken broth, and ginger. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Uncover and cool for 15 minutes.
• Transfer soup in batches to a food processor; blend until smooth. Return soup to the Dutch oven; stir in cream. Add curry powder, salt, and black pepper; cook over low heat until heated through, about 10 minutes.

Steps:

• Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 450 degrees. Toss the carrots, onion, 1 teaspoon of the oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt on a rimmed baking sheet and then spread in an even layer. Roast until the vegetables are well browned and softened, stirring occasionally, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Transfer the roasted vegetables to a large saucepan. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil,cover,and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the carrots soften further, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the wine and bay leaf; cook until the wine has reduced by half, about 1 minute. Add the broths. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cover, reduce the heat to medium- low and simmer until the soup is flavorful, about 5 minutes.
• Puree the mixture in a blender (or food processor) until smooth,and return to a clean saucepan. Add the half-and-half and warm over low heat until hot,about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (The soup can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Warm over low heat until hot; do not boil.).

Steps:

• Peel and cut the carrots into ½-inch rounds. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the carrots with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt. Set an oven rack 6 to 8 inches from the heat source and turn on the broiler. Broil the carrots until they brown and soften, turning them over with a spatula every 5 minutes or so; this should take 15-20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring the stock to a boil. Add the ginger and the sprig of thyme and simmer gently for 15 minutes.
• Dice the onion and place in a medium stockpot with the remaining olive oil. Cook the onion over medium heat, stirring frequently, until softened and lightly browned. Season. Add the garlic, and then the carrots.
• Remove the ginger and thyme from the stock, and add the stock to the pot with the onions and carrots. Bring to boil and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, until the carrots are soft enough to purée.
• Use an immersion or standard blender to purée the mixture until smooth. If the soup seems too thick, add more stock or water and gently reheat. Add salt and pepper to taste. To serve, ladle into bowls and garnish with chopped fresh thyme.

Steps:

• Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large saucepan or casserole pot. Fry the onion and celery gently for 5 mins. Add the crushed garlic and cook for 1 min more. Tip in the carrots, stock and thyme, then season and bring to the boil. Lower to a simmer and cook, covered, for 25 mins until the carrots are softened.
• Meanwhile, heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Rub the whole garlic clove over both sides of the sourdough. Tear it into rough chunks and toss with the remaining oil, a good pinch of salt and the seeds. Spread out on a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 mins until golden and crisp. Mix with the chopped parsley and set aside.
• Remove the thyme from the pan and discard. Blitz the soup with a hand blender until smooth. Stir though the cream and season to taste. To serve, ladle the soup into four bowls, top with the croutons and drizzle over a little extra cream, if you like.