A few weeks ago I photographed this Roasted Carrot Soup recipe for a client and I’ve been on a pureed vegetable soup kick ever since. Root vegetables like carrots, beets, and squash add a pop of color to the soup bowl that’s most welcome during the grey days of winter. Try potato, celery root, or cauliflower for an elegant bowl of silky cream-colored soup. For years I’ve used the base recipe for How to Make Pureed Vegetable Soups from Martha Stewart’s Cooking School cookbook. Martha’s method involves three steps: sauté the aromatics (like onion and garlic), add the base vegetable and simmer in stock, puree the soup. The technique is simple and open to endless variations. You can use homemade vegetable or chicken stock in the soup, but I find water works just fine and lets the pure vegetable flavor shine. I can’t share the Roasted Carrot Soup recipe here, but I can tell you that the technique for slicing the carrots and roasting them in the oven (along with a head of garlic wrapped in foil) really pumped up the flavor. To make the puree I placed the roasted garlic cloves in a blender with the carrot, sautéed shallots and fresh ginger, and water. You can always thin a pureed vegetable soup if it’s too thick, so be judicious with the liquids until you’ve got the right consistency. The beauty of pureed vegetable soups is their ability to be rich and velvety without any cream or added thickeners. Finish the soup with a garnish of fresh herbs, good olive oil, or a few drops of aged balsamic vinegar.
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That photo is just sublime. Roast vegetable soups were such a part of my childhood, with a few pieces of generously buttered toast on the side. The one key I learned the first time I made it on my own was to be very careful with hot liquids going into a blender. That’s one mistake you only make once…
Thanks Tori, and welcome back (assuming you’re home safe now?). It’s so important not to overfill the blender with boiling hot soup- thanks for the reminder!
I use a hand-held blender to do the job right in the pot.
Andrew,
I’m a big fan of the hand-held immersion blender too. Thanks for your comment!
I adore soups like this in the winter! The mix of roasted carrot and roasted garlic sounds incredible. I don’t think I’ve ever tried them together in soup before. Beautiful pictures, too 🙂
Nicole,
When I first saw the roasted carrot and garlic combo, I didn’t know what to think. After tasting the soup, I realized it’s a great mix of flavors. I guess it makes sense because carrots are sweet and roasting garlic brings out its sweetness too.
I think that most pureed vegetable soups are my favorite! Carrot is definitley up there, as is broccoli, potato, cauliflower…if it’s in a creamy pureed soup, I want it. 🙂
Eileen,
Broccoli is a good one! Yum.
Roasted vegetables make for fantastic soup–it just adds another layer of caramelized flavor. Cauliflower and jerusalem artichokes are some of my favorites. I think the carrot soup above is begging for a chili-spiced crunchy chickpea garnish.
Anna,
Good call on the chickpea garnish! That sounds like a great idea!
Finally got around to making my version of roasted carrot soup! If you’re interested, you can check it out here:
http://www.tallgrasskitchen.com/creamy-roasted-carrot-soup-vegan-and-the-tale-of-my-very-short-love-affair-with-cashew-cream
This looks delicious – I’m really into carrot soup at the moment!
Thanks Rachel. I love it that carrot soup is so versatile- you can go with a French, Asian, or Middle Eastern flavor profile. So good!
I think you’ve inspired me to make soup for tomorrow night’s dinner. I love the simplicity of using just one type of vegetable!
I’m glad you found some inspiration, Sara!
Beautiful bowl of soup with pretty pretty lighting. My son has been asking for more pureed soups rather than the stew like soups I’ve been making. This one would be perfect.
Thanks, Sarah!
I make loads of pureed soups – potato, butternut squash, broccoli. I’ll puree anything! Your carrot soup looks quite lovely, and that lighting is crazy good 🙂
Renee,
I’m glad you’re into pureed soups! Thanks for your sweet comment.
Jess,
I’m a sucker for pureed veggie soups of any kind. One of my favorite is a caramelized fennel soup from Patricia Well’s – delish!
The color of your soup is calling my name today. I could dive into that bowl.
xo
E
Thanks for the suggestion, Erin. I am going to try it. Love fennel!
What a pretty soup! That first photo is gorgeous. I’ve been making soup like crazy, I’ll have to add this to the list!
Thank you Sarah!