Roasted Carrot Soup

This soup is delicious, healthy and simple!  I've made it a couple of times and my kids love it too.  It's perfect for a weeknight dinner served with grilled cheese sandwiches, or "dippers" as we call them at my house!  The basil could easily be swapped out for ginger and served with a side of pot stickers!

Recipe

1 bag of baby carrots or 5-6 regular sized carrots peeled and chopped into about 2" pieces

1/2 an onion peeled and roughly chopped 

3-4 cloves of garlic unpeeled

1 - 32oz. carton of chicken broth (substitute vegetable broth if desired)

olive oil

salt & pepper

fresh basil

I've made this soup with regular carrots and baby carrots and it doesn't change the flavor so it just depends on what's in your crisper.  Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees.  Place carrots, chopped onion & garlic on a baking sheet.  Add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the veggies, enough to lightly coat everything so it won't stick to the sheet.  I've used parchment paper to line the cookie sheet before, it speeds up your clean up time, but it isn't necessary.  Season with salt and pepper and put into pre-heated oven.  The vegetables take 20-30 minutes to roast and I like to turn them at least once so they get carmelized on all sides.  When the vegetables look browned and the onions are carmelized remove from oven.  In a sauce pan on the stove bring 2 cups of chicken broth to a simmer.  Remove the garlic from it's peel (it may be hot, but should be easy to squeeze out) and add all vegetables to the simmering chicken broth.  I use my emersion blender to puree the mixture, but you could use a regular blender if you don't have one of those handy gadgets.  Remove the vegetables from the heat and puree.  If you find the soup is too thick add remainder of the broth a little at a time until it becomes the consistency you like.  Return to stove and heat through.  Garnish with fresh basil and serve with grilled cheese "dippers".  Enjoy!