Roasted Carrot Soup with Carrot Top Pesto
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: Dish Type; easy; Light meals; Lunch; Main Ingredient; Meals and Courses; Seasonal; Soups; Special Diets; Starters; Vegetables; Vegetarian; Winter
Description
This is the best way to use up all your carrots, root to tip! Make the pesto with your favourite leafy herbs, they’ll all work perfectly.
Ingredients
Carrot Soup
6–7 large carrots (roughly 700 g), peeled and sliced into rounds, stalks included
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
700 ml good quality chicken or vegetable stock
½ C (125 ml) coconut milk (or regular cream if you wish)
Carrot Top Pesto
2 C (500 ml) carrot tops, washed
1 C (250 ml) of your choice of herb (basil, coriander, parsley etc), washed
¼ C (60 ml) of pecan nuts, toasted
1 small clove of garlic, peeled
¼ C (60 ml) Parmesan, finely grated
¼ lemon, zested
½ C (125 ml) extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Carrot Soup
Preheat the oven to 180 ºC.
Place the carrots onto a roasting tray, drizzle generously with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast until the carrots a golden colour and soft all the way through.
In a medium sized saucepan, heat up some olive oil on a low-medium heat and add the chopped onions, along with some salt. Allow the onions to soften and colour only slightly. Add the chopped garlic cloves and soften.
Once the carrots are nicely roasted, add to the onions and top with the stock. Bring to the boil and then simmer everything together for about 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat and either using a stick blender or a soup blender, blend the soup together until smooth and creamy. Add the coconut milk and blend once again. Check the seasoning. Adjust the thickness with water or stock.
Carrot Top Pesto
Combine the carrot tops and your herb of choice in a food processor. Pulse together to combine.
Add the nuts, garlic, cheese, lemon zest, salt and pepper and blend. Then add the olive oil in batches, pulsing between each addition. Check the seasoning and correct with any of the ingredients.
Note: This recipe should make a little extra than you’ll need for each serving. Store it in an airtight container, like a glass jar, topped with a little olive to reduce oxidisation. Also feel free to double this recipe, if needed.
