Vegan Cream of Carrot Soup

Cream of carrot and fennel is a tasty and nutritious vegan soup. First, the vegetables are roasted to intensify their flavor; after they are nice and soft, they are covered with homemade vegetable broth and blended into a velvety soup. This delicious soup is so easy to make and it's perfect to enjoy on a chilly fall evening.

The recipe:

www.vespresso.cooking/vegan-cream-of-carrot-soup

Ingredients (for 4 servings):

• 600g carrots (500g after the cleaning / peeling process) - about 6 carrots
• 1 large fennel bulb (about 200g)
• 3 – 4 Tbsp olive oil (50-60ml)
• 1 large red onion (about 100g)
• 1 red chilli pepper (deseeded)
• 4 Tbsp dry red wine (60ml)
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste (30g)
• 1l – 1,2l vegetable soup (4 - 5 cups)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 100ml vegan cream (optional) - about 1/2 cup
• 2 Tbsp pistachio nuts (for serving)

Tools:

• a large saucepan
• a baking tray lined with parchment paper
• a sharp knife
• a cutting board
• a blender or a food processor

Abbreviations:

• tsp = teaspoon
• Tbsp = tablespoon

Trim about 1 cm off the bottom of the garlic head. Drizzle with 1/4 tsp sea salt and 1/2 tsp olive oil and wrap it loosely in aluminium foil. Place the package in the preheated oven at 190°C/375°F (gas mark 5).

Peel the carrots and slice them. Clean the fennel bulb and slice it.

Place the carrot and the fennel slices on a parchment paper-lined tray and drizzle 2 Tbsp olive oil. Put the tray in the oven next to the garlic package and roast the carrots and the fennel bulb for 40 minutes, until the veggies are browned and tender, stirring everything every 10 minutes. My garlic was ready in 30 minutes.

While the vegetables are roasting in the oven, finely chop the onion.

Pour the vegetable broth in a skillet and reheat it.

In another skillet sautee the chopped onion in 1 Tbsp of olive oil until it's translucent. Add the chopped chili and cook it for 30 seconds. Add the wine and cook the mixture on high heat until the liquid has reduced by half. Add the tomato puree, the roasted carrots and fennel and the hot vegetable broth. Simmer the soup for 15 minutes.

Puree the soup using a blender. Take the garlic from the package and press the bottom of the garlic head to extract the garlic puree.

Add the garlic puree and the cream and pulse again for about 10 seconds. Season with salt and pepper and serve the soup in bowls with pistachio nuts for croutons.