roasting in quarantine

Which is somewhat of a surprise since I don’t care for carrots. You may wonder if that is the case, why did I choose to make carrot soup? I made the soup because I needed to use up the vegetables I had on hand that I planned on making Crudites Harmony Boards with. Multi-colored carrots are a big part of those boards. Since Harmony Boards is closed during this crisis, veggies are turning into soups instead. You may use all orange carrots for your soup, I used yellow, orange, and white for mine. What made this soup so wonderful for me was the addition of tomatoes. I LOVE tomatoes! Plus, roasting vegetables always makes them better.

Roasted Carrot and Tomato Soup

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 pounds tomatoes, stems cut out and halved lengthwise
• 1 pound carrots, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• Halved cherry tomatoes, for garnish
• Fresh dill sprigs, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with foil and spread 1 tablespoon of the oil over the foil.

Arrange the onion slices, tomato halves, carrot rounds, and garlic cloves on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast until vegetables are tender and some are lightly brown, tossing occasionally for about 55 minutes.

Transfer the roasted vegetables to a large pot.

Add the chicken broth, parsley, and the basil to the pot and bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer about half of the solids from the pot to a blender, then use a ladle and add 2 or 3 ladles of the liquid from the pot and puree. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat with the remaining solids and liquids from the pot and puree. Add the sour cream to the blender and puree again. Return the first batch of soup to the bowl and the second batch in the blender back to the pot and stir to combine. Reheat, taste, and season with salt and pepper as needed

Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with the cherry tomato halves and a sprig of dill and enjoy.

Served 6