Gluten Free Roasted Carrot Basil Soup

by

By Alison Rose Munn

These past few weeks the Trader Joe’s near me has had beautiful bags of orange, yellow, white, and purple carrots for sale and I just can’t resist them. Every time I buy them I then arrive home wondering what I’m going to do with two pounds of carrots. On a recent frigid night I decided to make a soup out of the too many carrots I had in the fridge and stumbled upon a delectable recipe on the Food Network for Carrot Basil Soup. Just a few ingredients and very easy to make, this soup perfectly hit the spot and I’ve found myself often craving it since. I found that the amount of liquid called for was not enough the first time around but was plenty the second time around. If need be, feel free to add more water at the end. Also, the recipe I found called for five cups of oth which to me was too much. I prefer using just two cups of oth to allow the carrot and basil flavors to be featured. The recipe below is a combination of the original recipe and my input.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 pounds carrots
  • ½ large sweet onion
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 cups chicken or vegetable oth
  • 2-3 cups water
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
  • goat cheese, sour cream, or Greek yogurt - optional

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Peel carrots, then chop the carrots and onion into chunks.
  3. Mix the carrot, onion, and garlic cloves in bowl with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Pour the contents of the bowl onto a sheet tray and place in the oven on the middle rack.
  4. Roast in the oven until tender and golden own in spots, about 45 minutes.
  5. On the stovetop, add 4 cups of liquid to a saucepan and ing to a simmer over medium low heat.
  6. Once the garlic is cool enough to handle, pop them out of their skins. Add garlic, carrots, and onions to the saucepan. Simmer for 15 minutes.
  7. Add the basil at the very end of cooking.
  8. In a blender, puree until smooth. Add the remaining oth. If the soup is not at the desired consistency, add water until it is.
  9. Top each serving with your choice of goat cheese (my favorite choice), sour cream, or Greek yogurt (optional).
  10. Enjoy warming up with this soup on a chilly night!

Prep Time: 20-30 minutes

Cook Time: apx. 90 minutes

Serves 4-6