Roasted carrot, chilli and hazelnut soup with crispy rosemary.
There is nothing more comforting than a warm bowl of soup when the weather turns cool and the sun sets earlier and earlier. I love the simplicity of this soup and its one you can probably make with what’s in your cupboard. The hazelnut butter adds a wonderful richness to it but feel free to use almond butter or even peanut if you’ve none to hand. I’ve included instructions on how to make the crispy rosemary. This isn’t a must but it is a delicious addition and really takes very little effort.
Ingredients
Serves 4-6 (freeze some for later)
1kg carrots
Olive oil
1 tsp dried chili flakes
Sea salt
70g hazelnut butter (almond works too)
1litre vegetable or chicken stock
to garnish
A handful rosemary
A handful of toasted hazelnuts
METHOD
Preheat your oven to 200° fan setting.
Wash your carrots and arrange onto a large roasting tray. Drizzle with oil, and sprinkle over the chilli flakes and a pinch of salt. Massage to coat with your hands.
Roast for 1 hour until cooked through and slightly charred in places. Allow to cool slightly.
Transfer the carrots, hazelnut butter and stock to a high-speed blender and blend till smooth. Taste to season and add more stock/water until you reach a desired consistency. I like a thick soup.
To make the crispy rosemary first remove the leaves of your rosemary from the woody stem. Have a paper towel-lined plate ready.
Place about a ½ cm layer of oil in a small saucepan over a medium heat. You will know it is hot enough when a single rosemary leaf sizzles when dropped in. Test it after a minute or so.
When the oil is ready, drop in the rosemary leaves in making sure they are covered in oil. Leave them for about 20 seconds before using a fork to remove them and transfer them to the paper towel-lined plate.
When ready to serve warm through on a hob. Top with crispy rosemary and toasted chopped hazelnuts if you like.
