The smell of this lovely carrot soup cooking is intoxicating. Between the leeks cooking in butter and the carrots roasting in the oven with ground cumin and coriander, you have a winner with this tasty soup. I like to roast the carrots for this soup recipe because to me, it is the best way to bring out the carrots natural sweetness. After the carrots are roasted you place them into the pot of cooked leeks and butter and cover it all with chicken stock. Pureed with an immersion blender until smooth, I wanted a dramatic garnish to round out this elegant springtime soup. I decided to stick with the carrot theme and sauté some carrots ribbons with garlic as the soup’s garnish, and finished it all off with crunchy sliced almonds and a sprinkling of fresh cilantro.
(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)
Roasted Carrot & Leek Soup with Carrot Ribbons & Sliced Almonds
Ingredients:
- 4 large carrots, cut into ¼-inch thick rounds
- Olive oil
- Ground cumin
- Ground coriander
- Salt and pepper
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 leeks, dark green ends removed and root end trimmed; thinly sliced into half-moons
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ¼ cup heavy cream or half-and-half
- 1 carrot, peeled with a vegetable peeler
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- Sliced almonds and fresh cilantro, for garnish
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; place the carrot rounds on the baking sheet and drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and ½ teaspoon of each the cumin and coriander. Roast for 25 minutes or until tender.
- In a large stockpot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add in the sliced leeks and saute for 3-4 minutes or until tender. Add in the roasted carrots to the pot and cover with the chicken stock. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 5-7 minutes or until the carrots are super tender. Puree the soup with an immersion blender until smooth.
- Stir in the heavy cream and adjust seasonings if needed. To make the garnish, heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a small sauté pan and add in the garlic and carrot ribbons. Sauté over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes or until the carrots are tender.
- Top each bowl of soup with the carrots ribbon-garlic mixture, sliced almonds and fresh cilantro leaves.
Tagged: carrot and leek soup, carrot ribbons, carrot soup, chicken broth, garlic, ground coriander, ground cumin, leeks, roasted carrots, sliced almonds, soup, vegetarian, vegetarian soup
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