Spicy Roasted Carrot Soup
Why I Love This Recipe
Ingredients You'll Need
3 Tablespoons olive oil
2Tablespoons honey (I used a raw honey)
1 tsp Sriracha (asian chile-garlic sauce. You can find it anywhere. There's a rooster on the bottle)- more or less depending on your tolerance of heat
1 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder
1/4 tsp each kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1lb carrots, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces - DO NOT use "baby carrots"
1 small white onion, quartered
1 can chicken broth
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup half and half
Directions
Preheat oven to 325.
Heat olive oil, honey, sriracha, and 5 spice powder in a large oven-proof skillet over medium heat, stirring, until well blended (the spices may foam a bit).
Add the carrots and onion and toss to coat. Place in the oven for 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. The vegetables should be soft and lightly browned.
Let the roasted veggies cool, then transfer them, along with any juices in the pan, to a blender. Add the Chicken broth and coconut milk and puree till smooth. You may need to add up to 1/2 cup of water if it's too thick. I did, and it didn't diminish the flavor one bit.
Transfer the puree to a medium saucepan over medium low heat, stir in the cream, and heat through. Taste, adjust seasoning, and serve. And that's all there is to it, kids!
You could top this off with a little chopped cilantro and maybe some homemade croutons (cube some bread, toss it in a hot skillet with some melted butter and a bit of chinese 5 spice and a pinch of salt until golden and crispy)
*Sriracha doesn't just add heat, but flavor too. If you leave it out, add 3 or 4 unpeeled garlic cloves to the pan with the carrots. Peel them before pureeing.
*to take this vegetarian, use vegetable broth but omit the onion (canned vegetable broth is onion-y enough). Leave out the cream and use your choice of either extra broth, extra coconut milk, or almond milk.
Both variations will give you a different flavor altogether, but still a delicious soup!
