Roasted Carrot Soup

Well the weather here in Minnesota sure doesn't feel like November weather these days!  It's been BEAUTIFUL, sunny, and relatively warm for this time of year!  It's made what is normally a cold, gray month that drags on forever actually pleasant and enjoyable!  Even though the temps are on the warmer side (when I say warmer I'm talking upper 40s maybe some 50s) it's totally still soup weather in my book!  Today was spent making Roasted Carrot Soup for our patient appreciation week that starts tomorrow and goes through Wednesday!

When I first found this recipe it sounded good but I really wasn't so sure about it.  It was SO simple with limited ingredients that I had no idea if it'd actually be something that was full of flavor or if it'd just seem like I was drinking a carrot.  So... I brought the recipe over to Julie's and we decided to give it a shot but we didn't really have our hopes too high for it!  We were in for a pleasant and tasty surprise that we've made many times since.  Over the year or so that we've been making it we've made a few changes to make a fast and easy recipe even faster and easier!  This truly is a simple recipe with amazing flavor.  It'll turn even the cooked carrot haters (Julie's sons... who tried it without knowing what it was and LIKED it until we told them it was carrots haha!) into lovers, ok maybe just likers or tolerators... but they won't hate it!

This soup is perfect for a cool fall day... warming to the insides and delicious on the tongue it's sure to turn even the cold and gray days into happy ones!  We hope you enjoy it as much as we have!  Ps... it is a great soup to freeze into single serving containers for those times you just want something familiar but don't have the time to cook!  Enjoy!

Roasted Carrot Soup
Adapted from food52
Servings: 4

6 to 8 large carrots (about 1 3/4 pounds)
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt
6 cups vegetable stock (good quality, not too high in sodium)
1 piece ginger, an inch long, peeled
A few sprigs of thyme, plus more for garnish
1/2 large sweet onion
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper

1.  Peel and cut the carrots, onions, whole garlic cloves, and ginger (roughly chopped) and combine on a large baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Set your oven to Broil and move the rack up so it's about 6-8 inches from the top.  Broil the carrots, onions, garlic and ginger making sure to stir every now and then.  You should get a nice char on the vegetables and the carrots should be soft (about 30 minutes give or take)

2.  Meanwhile, bring the stock to a boil, add the sprigs of thyme and simmer gently for 15 minutes.

3.  Remove the sprigs of thyme from the broth and add in the carrots when they are done.  Let simmer for a few minutes then using an immersion blender blend mixture till smooth.

4.  Serve with fresh thyme to garnish and enjoy!

* This soup pairs great with a grilled cheese sandwich using Munster!