Roasted Carrot Soup with Carrot Top Pesto

Carrot Knowledge

Carrots come in various colors -- you’ve likely seen bunches of purple, yellow, and orange carrots. Carrot flavors range anywhere from sweet and sugary to piney and woody. The common carrot you find in stores is designed to be an all-purpose, sweeter carrot that can be enjoyed both raw and cooked.
Real baby carrots are young carrots. Otherwise they have been shaved (milled) down.
High in beta-carotene, which is converted to Vitamin A - that’s why they are called carrots (carotene), and that’s why you always hear they are good for your eyes.
Choose carrots that are brightly colored. That’s how you know when they were picked at the peak of ripeness. That’s when they will be the sweetest. Carrots that were picked too soon will taste bitter and woody.

Carrot Tips

Remove the skin. May cause bitter taste. Plus, if you’re serving them whole, it’ll look prettier.
Save with tops -- remove them to avoid bitter taste.
Don’t throw away the carrot tops! Use them in stock, pesto, salads, or as a garnish. They give a light carrot flavor.

Soup Ingredients

5 large carrots, 1" slices

1 sweet and tart apple, like a gala, wedges

1 small onion, sliced

2 celery stalks, 1” slices

2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

1—2 tbsp olive oil

2 cups vegetable broth

salt, pepper

pinch chile powder

heavy cream (optional)

Pest Ingredients

2 carrot top bunches, washed

1 cup fresh basil

¼ cup walnuts

1 garlic clove

¼ cup parmesan cheese

¼ cup pecorino romano

½ cup olive oil

salt, pepper

Prep veggies.

Put carrots, apple, onion, celery, garlic, chile powder, and olive oil on a baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper.

Roast for 25 minutes

Place all ingredients plus veggie broth in blender. Blend, put in a stock pot and keep warm.

In the meantime, make pesto. Put all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.

Roasted Carrot Soup