Sunday, September 23, 2012

Roasted Carrot and Tomato Soup

Our 5 burner stove has been going full tilt the past few days as we dedicated kitchen time to preparing hearty cold weather dishes in bulk. Working at break neck speed, the possibility for an 'oops' was high.

In my haste, I accidentally opened a jar of my home-canned tomato juice instead of sauce.  At first I felt frustration, knowing it now needed to be refrigerated and used within days.  But as we say often around here, sometimes a problem is really disguised as an opportunity.  

The corner of the counter was loaded with well-ripened tomatoes from the garden - Yellow Perfection and San Marzano (seedling plants came from Vicki's Veggies in PEC).  Reviewing the remainder of our Roots and Shoots Farm's CSA food baskets, I found month-old colourful carrots needing a purpose. Thankfully, still in great shape.  

The flavour combination of carrots and tomatoes is undisputed. At least in this house. As I added up all my 'problems', the opportunity presented itself as roasted carrot and tomato soup.

I have written out the recipe as it was executed today. But you should not feel bridled to the ingredient list or the method.  It is not meant to be prescriptive but more of a suggestion of what works well together and how you could go about it.

If you can't find time to roast the vegetables, don't.  If you have more tomatoes than carrots, go for it.  If you want to throw in some basil, do.  If you have vegetable stock instead, it may actually taste better than chicken.  No coloured carrots, stick to orange. No kale chips in sight, skip it. Dying to toss in a sprinkle of Parmesan, I say "why not". You get the idea.  That's the nice thing about soup.  It's not souffle.

Roasted Carrot and Tomato Soup
Yields: 6 one-cup servings

 ROASTED VEGETABLES:
6 small purple carrots
2 small yellow carrots
3 small orange carrots
2 cloves garlic
6 yellow perfection tomatoes
5 San Marzano tomatoes
1 onion
extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons butter
1 onion, diced
2 small stalks celery, chopped, with leaves if healthy
handful of kale chips

2 cups tomato juice
2 cups chicken stock, use vegetable stock as an alternate

GARNISH:
pea shoots or chives 
dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt, optional

Preheat oven to 425ºF.  Cut carrots and tomatoes lengthwise and lay out on a baking sheet.  Cut one onion into 6 wedges.  Place onion wedges and unpeeled garlic cloves onto the baking sheet.  Drizzle vegetables with olive oil. Then season with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Roast the vegetables for 30 - to 40 minutes until they start to caramelize.  Do not over roast.

Melt butter into a saucepan.  Sauté the diced onion and chopped celery until translucent. Season with salt.

Add roasted vegetables to the saucepan.  Add the tomato juice and stock.  Add the kale chips if you are using them.

Simmer for 10 minutes to combine the flavours.

Blend in a VitaMix or a blender until very smooth.  Thin with more stock if necessary to get the preferred consistency. (I do not like my soup to be super thick.)  Heat the soup through again. Taste and season.

[Colour carrots from Roots and Shoots Farm]
[Garlic from Roots and Shoots Farm]

[Vegetables will be roasted at 425ºF for 30 minutes.]
[Delicious with a rustic bread]

11 comments:

  1. I do this sort of thing a lot in the fall--especially because it's so easy--but the celery/butter step is something I'm going to have to try. Thank you!

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    1. Kim, putting in celery was a bit of a 'move it along' gesture. I had celery in my CSA share and I had a few stalks left. When I found it in the fridge, the pan was already in the oven so I decided not to roast it and thought I would just sweat it off with another onion. It is another flavour and added something I am sure. I really loved this soup and would do it again in a heartbeat.

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  2. You have such a beautiful way with words. And with food. I love the "playing around" in this soup. :)

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Shari. I do love when you come by the blog for a visit. Your words continue to be encouraging. This recipe is a keeper and I can imagine dabbling with it again sometime. I managed to clear my counter of tomatoes today. But not for long. Before dinner I came in with another bowl of pinkies and pale yellows. They do ripen well on the counter. Better than outside on a 9C rainy day. So the cycle continues. I was liking the look of the counter. Eventually I will see it again.

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  3. Ohhh Roasted Carrot and Tomato Soup!! I love it! Thanks for sharing this recipe!! I will definitely try this :-)

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    Replies
    1. Jane, I have been away from home for a bit. I popped some tomatoes in the freezer before I left and my organic Roots and Shoots Farm carrots survived well in their cool place. I have lots of stock on hand and I am feeling like today is a soup day. I hope you had good luck with the recipe. Imagine enjoying it with some fresh, chewy bread.

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  4. Hi,
    Your Roasted Carrot and Tomato Soup looks tasty
    You can submit your Roasted Carrot and Tomato Soup pics on http://www.foodporn.net It is a food photography site where members can submit all food pictures that make readers hungry :)
    I am already hungry to see these photos btw, LOL

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    Replies
    1. Hillary, you are too kind. Happy to have appetizing pictures along with the recipe. It really was as good as it looked.

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  5. Your roasted carrot and tomato soup sounds absolutely wonderful and look at those beautiful carrots!

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    1. Hi Gitte: I have made this soup a few times now since I am swimming in tomatoes. The last are off the plants and ripening on the counter. I suspect I will make another batch soon to tuck in the freezer. It has been a winner. Thanks for stopping by to read the blog.

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  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

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