How to make Carrot Soup

1) Roast the carrots
Roasting the carrots condenses their flavor, which brings out the carrots’ best sweet-and-savory notes. This step makes all the difference between a ho-hum carrot soup and a why-is-this-so-good carrot soup.

2) Cook some aromatics and spices
Meanwhile, we’ll sauté some chopped onion in oil until tender. Then, we’ll add some fresh garlic, plus ground coriander and cumin. The spices make the soup taste more interesting in a subtle way. (If you’re out of coriander or cumin, though, you can omit them.) Cooking the spices in oil for about 30 seconds wakes them right up, while it mellows the garlic.

3) Simmer to bring it all together
Then, we’ll add vegetable broth, water, and the roasted carrots when they are out of the oven. We’ll gently simmer them all together for 15 minutes to bring all the flavors together.

Of note: I’ve been experimenting with using water instead of vegetable broths in soups, and I rarely miss the broth. If you’re cutting costs or watching your sodium intake, water is a great option here. I’ll share my notes on this subject in greater detail soon.

4) Blend in a stand blender
Stand blenders always yield ultra creamy results. Immersion blenders don’t come close! That’s why I always recommend blending soup in a stand blender instead. I don’t like cleaning extra dishes, either, but the resulting texture is worth the effort. Be careful while blending. Let the soup cool for a few minutes before transferring to a blender, never fill past the maximum fill line (it could explode), and be careful near the steam escaping from the lid (it’s hot!).

5) Finish with butter and lemon
You won’t believe how much difference a tablespoon of butter makes at the end. Once blended into the rest, it makes the soup taste more luxurious without dulling the other flavors like cream does (did you know that soups could be this creamy, without cream?). Adding some lemon juice brightens up the finished product and brings it all together.