this year i decided to plant my carrots slightly ad-hoc in style and so threw loads of seeds into the planter, with plans to thin them out as and when… obviously this didn’t happen and I’ve ended up with a bumper crop of mini-carrots… but the other strange thing is that they also seem to have sprouted in some other unusual places…. places that, as far as I remember, weren’t their original destination…
… they’ve cropped up in between the cracks in the patio, in the clematis planter (a good 3 metres away) and in the flower boarder across the lawn… now, either I’ve been careless with my packet of carrot seeds and sneezed whilst sowing, or I have the worlds first free-range carrots…
always wonderful in many dishes, from the ubiquitous (and in my opinion, decidedly dull) carrot and coriander soup to the naughty but nice carrot cake muffins… and for today’s delight I’ve done a soup which is a little twist on the norm as I’ve roasted the carrots first with some garlic, fennel seeds and rosemary and then blended them into a rich, deep, tasty soup with, I think, a bit more body and punch.
I finely chopped and in a heavy pan I sauted a medium onion in butter and olive oil, I also threw in some straggly bits of celery I found in the fridge. The carrots took about 35 minutes to roast and then they were added to the pan followed by about a pint and a half of good veg stock. I gave the soup a further 30 minutes and then threw in some fresh coriander and whizzed the whole thing up into a smooth velvety soup…. a dollop or two of cream and we’re in carrot heaven!
eat and of course, enjoy!
It is a wonderful combination, very balanced. And photo is tasty 😉
I'm afraid those carrots would never have made it to soup stage with me!!!
I'd have eaten the whole pan full, they look delicious!
Delicious twist – you're right carrot and coriander can be a an insipid combo without something to give it a bit more welly.
dom, don't you just love it when things pop up where you don't expect them? i've got a rogue swiss chard and it makes me giggle every time i see it! Anyway, soup looks great! It is getting cooler and I can't wait to make soup and stews and all those lovely wintery foods! 🙂
Love, love, love the fact that soups are on many bloggers' minds these days! This one looks so rich … what would you pair this with if doing a dinner with soup as the first course? And oh! I'm thinking a couple roasted parsnips would only add to the sweetness!
How clever, I never even thought of roasting the carrots when I made soup recently. They look amazing.
I'm off to try this with parsnips, I think.
thanks for the kind comments
@BVG… we did indeed make a dish of roasted carrots the night before and ate them like this… they gave me the inspiration for the soup
@Susan… parsnips would add a great taste and sweetness to it but I think we need to be another month into autumn before we do… and I would go on to serve a roasted bird…
@GreedyRosie… the roasting process seems to add a nutty depth to the soup… I got my inspiration from Nigel Slater who, when making French onion soup always roasts his onions first… this gives them the colour but also the caramelisation… good with any veg!
I love carrots and I love soups! This looks VERY yummy! Can't wait to try it! I enjoyed my visit today!
Inspired idea, to roast the carrots first. Makes you wonder why you didn't think of it before! LOL