On a cold day, nothing tastes quite as good as hot soup. Looking into my fridge I had carrots fresh from the farm and ginger. Keeping it simple, Roasted Carrot Ginger Soup was born.

6 to 8 carrots
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt

6 cups vegetable stock
1 inch ginger, peeled
1 tsp thyme
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
Freshly ground black pepper
parsley, chopped

Peel and cut the carrots and onions. On a baking sheet, toss the carrots and onions with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt.

Preheat oven at 400 degrees C.
Roast the carrots until they begin to soften. This should take about 15-20 minutes.

Puree the roasted vegetables in a blender with water or vegetable stock until smooth.

Add the remaining olive oil into a pot and sauté garlic until brown. Add the pureed carrots and onions, remaining stock, ginger, and thyme. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the carrots are soft enough to puree.

Add salt and pepper to taste. If the soup is to think, add more stock or water and reheat gently. Be careful, as the thick soup will bubble and jump out of the pot.

To serve, garnish with chopped fresh parsley.

Optional:
To add a little zest I like to garnish this soup with sautéed swiss chard.

Olive Oil
1 Tbs garlic, minced
1 bunch swiss chard, chopped
1 tsp lemon pepper
1/2 lemon, juiced

Chop the swiss chard leaves and discard the stems.

In a pot sauté the garlic with the olive oil until brown. Add the swiss chard and cook until the leaves are wilted. Mix in the lemon pepper and the lemon juice.

Garnish the soup with a spoonful just before serving.