A New View of Healthy Eating: Daily Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: Roasted Carrot Soup

by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

I love beautiful food, simple plant-based cooking, and continually learning plant-based culinary. Since my birthday in November 2017, I’ve been enrolled in the Plantlab Culinary Cooking Fundamentals Course. Although I’ve been teaching Whole Foods Cooking at the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts since March 2015, have led hundreds of cooking workshops and classes, and completed the Rouxbe Professional Plant-based Course in January 2015, I always love to learn more culinary.

For the Final Project in the Plantlab Culinary Course, my First course is Roasted Carrot Soup. Orange Braised Leeks. This course was inspired by local Arizona farmers’ carrots and our Winter Arizona citrus season. Today, I’m happy to share with you the recipe some photos of the Roasted Carrot Soup.

Roasted Carrot Soup. Orange Braised Leeks.

A light, fresh soup showcasing local Arizona farmers’ carrots and leeks. Thanks so much to Steadfast Farm for the beautiful carrots. Love their delicate beauty and how their flavor tastes like the real carrots I enjoyed as a kid. And, thanks to McClendon Select for the leeks. In the past I would order a dish with leeks at restaurants, now I’m enjoying braised leeks with carrot soup and roasted leeks on flatbread.

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds local Arizona farmers yellow and orange carrots
2-3 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
Dash sea salt
1 shallot, sliced
1 tsp organic extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp caraway seeds
¼ tsp sumac (love this lemon flavor)
2 quarts veggie stock
½ tbsp sea salt
1 Bouquet
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 bunch lemon verbena
- ¼ bunch parsley
- ½ Arizona navel orange, sliced
2 tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice
1 orange, zested

SIMPLE STEPS

Roast carrots (blend) and leeks (keep chunky)
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Peel and cut carrots into 2” pieces.
- Toss carrots in organic extra virgin olive oil and sea salt.
- Place carrots on parchment-lined sheet plan
- Roast for 15 minutes.
- Flip carrots
- Roast another 12-15 minutes

Cook Soup
- Peel and slice shallot.
- In large soup pot, sweat shallot with olive oil, coriander and caraway seeds for 5 minutes.
- Add stock, salt, and carrots to the pot.
- Bring to a boil.
- Add the bouquet and lower to simmer.
- Simmer for 30 minutes.
- Season with orange juice and zest.
- Blend until smooth.