Cream Of Roasted Carrot Soupcooks Illustrated Recipes

CREAMY ROASTED CARROT SOUP

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup, if desired.
• To prepare your carrots, peel them and then cut them on the diagonal so each piece is about ½″ thick at the widest part (see photos).
• Place the carrots on the baking sheet. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Toss until the carrots are lightly coated in oil and seasonings. Arrange them in a single layer.
• Roast the carrots until they're caramelized on the edges and easily pierced through by a fork, 25 to 40 minutes, tossing halfway. (Heirloom carrot varieties will roast in as little as 25 minutes, but regular carrots are more dense and typically require 35 to 40 minutes.)
• Once the carrots are almost done roasting, in a Dutch oven or soup pot, warm the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened and turning translucent, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Add the garlic, coriander and cumin (if following a variation, see recipe notes for additions). Cook until fragrant while stirring constantly, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Pour in the vegetable broth and water, while scraping up any browned bits on the bottom with a wooden spoon or sturdy silicone spatula.
• Add the roasted carrots to the pot when they are out of the oven. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook for 15 minutes, to give the flavors time to meld.
• Once the soup is done cooking, remove the pot from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes. Then, carefully transfer the hot soup to a blender, working in batches if necessary. (Do not fill past the maximum fill line or the soup could overflow!)
• Add the butter, lemon juice (or lime, if following the Thai variation), and several twists of black pepper. Blend until completely smooth. Add additional salt and pepper if necessary, to taste. Add another tablespoon of butter if you'd like more richness, or a little more lemon juice if it needs more zing. Blend again, and serve.
• This soup keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for about four days, or for several months in the freezer.

CREAM OF CARROT SOUP

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.

ROASTED CARROT SOUP

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.

CREAM OF ROASTED CARROT SOUP(COOK'S ILLUSTRATED)

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.).

SIMPLE CARROT CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING(COOK'S ILLUSTRATED

Steps:

• For the cake: Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 13 by 9-inch baking pan (or 2, 9" round cake pans) with nonstick cooking spray. Line bottom of pan with parchment and spray parchment.
• 2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in large bowl; set aside.
• 3. In food processor fitted with large shredding disk, shred carrots; transfer carrots to bowl and set aside. Wipe out food processor work bowl and fit with metal blade. Process granulated and brown sugars and eggs until frothy and thoroughly combined, about 20 seconds. With machine running, add oil through feed tube in steady stream. Process until mixture is light in color and well emulsified, about 20 seconds longer. Scrape mixture into medium bowl. Stir in carrots and dry ingredients until incorporated and no streaks of flour remain. Pour into prepared pan and bake until toothpick or skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking time. Cool cake to room temperature in pan on wire rack, about 2 hours.
• 4. For the frosting: When cake is cool, process cream cheese, butter, sour cream, and vanilla in clean food processor work-bowl until combined, about 5 seconds, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Add confectioners' sugar and process until smooth, about 10 seconds.
• 5. Run paring knife around edge of cake to loosen from pan. Invert cake onto wire rack, peel off parchment, then invert again onto serving platter. Using icing spatula, spread frosting evenly over surface of cake. Cut into squares and serve. (Cover leftovers and refrigerate for up to 3 days.).

CREAMY CARROT SOUP

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.