Carrot Ginger Soup

Ingredients

4 garlic cloves, skins on

1 red chilli, stem removed

1 large onion, skin on, cut in half

1 butternut squash, cut in half, seeds removed

5 medium carrots, skinned with ends trimmed

1 tbs olive oil

Pinch of smoked paprika, cyann pepper, chilli powder

Generous cracks of sat and pepper 

4 cups chicken stock, for this we ‘cheat’, and use a chicken or vegetable bouillon cube

1/3 cup ginger concentrate

Preheat the Oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Clean and prepare the vegetables. Next, in a small bowl, mix the spices. Salt and pepper with the olive oil.

Using a silicone brush or similar, coat the flesh side of the butternut squash, place cut side down on parchment. Next, coat the carrots, and onions with the olive oil mixture. Arrange carrots on the baking sheet and onion with cut sides up. Lastly, toss to coat the garlic cloves and red chilli and place on the baking sheet.

Crack some more salt over top of the arranged vegetables, and when oven is ready, place baking sheet on a middle rack and roast along the following timelines, removing when aromatic and ready.

  • 10 minutes, remove the garlic, let cool with skins on, rotate the carrots

  • 30 minutes, remove the carrots, let cool and turn the squash over and continue roasting along with the onions

  • 45 minutes, remove squash and onions from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet.

In a food processor, we love our vitamix for this next step, add the 4 cups of chicken stock, 1/3 cup ginger concentrate, and the vegetables with the skins removed from the onions and garlic. On low, blend the ingredients together, and when the vegetables are starting to break down, slowly increase the intensity/spped and turn it up to high gear and pureé until smooth

Before you pour the soup mixture out of the food processor, give it a taste. Is anything missing? Add more salt and pepper to taste, or another dash or two of your favourite aromatic spices.

If you are planning to eat it today, let stand in the fridge until meal time, and then return to the stove top in a sauce pan. Add a splash of cream to enhance the flavour and smoothen the soup further, and serve with your favourite bread, for us its a baguette from the local bakery, or our weekly staple sour dough bread.

Semi Pro Tip: The vegetables take various cooking times. Particularly, be attentive and keep an eye on the garlic and chilli so they don’t burn. However, a little char here and there can definitely enhance the flavour. Rotate the remaining vegetables in the oven once or twice to promote even cooking throughout and balanced flavours.

Ian Conlon