Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Roasted Carrot and Parsnip Soup with Pumpkin Bread Croutons

Soups

I have a love-hate relationship with carrots. Carrot cake is my very favorite (although I’m not sure that really counts!), and I tend to enjoy hearty carrot chunks in vegetable and chicken noodle soup, but raw carrots just don’t do it for me. I always pick around them in salads or pawn them off to Apolinaras. I’ve recently warmed up to roasted carrots though and actually really loved them pureed in this soup, alongside some roasted parsnips.

I mixed the roasted carrots and parsnips with shallots, garlic, and a touch of toasted cumin and ginger to warm things up. Then I pureed the veggies along with some chicken stock and added a touch of cider vinegar for some acid and heavy cream for richness. I garnished the soup with croutons made from pumpkin bread, which I’ve been wanting to make ever since I whipped up these cornbread croutons. So good – roasting veggies always makes them better!

Roasted Carrot and Parsnip Soup with Pumpkin Bread Croutons
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 pound carrots, peeled and chopped
1 pound parsnips, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 large shallots, chopped (1 cup)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 thick slices pumpkin bread (I used my pumpkin beer bread), cut into crouton-sized cubes

Directions:
Heat oven to 400˚F. Place carrots and parsnips on a large cookie sheet and drizzle evenly with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Mix well and roast at 400˚F for 40 minutes or until tender.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large stockpot over medium high heat. Add shallots to the pan and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes or until tender; add garlic and sauté 1 additional minute. Stir in ground cumin and ginger until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add roasted carrots and parsnips, chicken broth, and salt to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 15 minutes. Use an immersion blender to puree until smooth; stir in heavy cream and apple cider vinegar and heat 2 to 3 more minute or until warmed through.

Meanwhile, place pumpkin bread cubes on a large cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes at 400˚F, then flip over the cubes and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool completely, about 20 minutes.

Ladle soup evenly into 4 bowls and top with croutons. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition: 292 calories, 15.6g fat, 5.3g fiber, 5.3g protein per serving
Cost: $1.58 per serving

Spiced Pumpkin Soup with Turkey Bacon

We had a blast in Chicago this weekend, but now I’m exhausted and it’s only the beginning of the week! There wasn’t a moment of downtime between Emily’s wedding downtown, navigating our way through the suburbs to visit our friends with babies, and squeezing in meals...

Roasted Yellow Pepper and Leek Soup

The first thing I always do when I’m planning a vacation is figure out where to eat. In fact, I would say our days tend be structured by what activities are around the restaurants we want to visit! I had more difficultly than usual planning our NYC trip because my mom...

Caribbean Sweet Potato and Plantain Soup

Well hello, I hope you all had a lovely Christmas celebration! We unplugged for the week and met my parents and brother in Palm Beach, Florida. A relaxing break with warm weather was just what we needed to recharge and it was so nice to spend time with my family. We...

Mini Meatball Mexican Soup

Remember when I mentioned I was testing a few soup recipes last week?  Work has been super busy, but I finally got around to making this one last night and had to post it right away because it’s so addicting! I had a huge bowl for dinner and went back for...

Pumpkin Apple Soup

Well hello, did you miss me? Last week was a whirlwind, and try as I might, I never quite managed to get a post up. I spent the first couple of days attending a conference for work just outside of Boston. Then Apolinaras and I headed over to Portland, Oregon for my...

Zucchini Basil Soup

Of all the fresh summer veggies in season right now, my favorites are yellow squash and zucchini. In fact, I often sauté 4-6 of them on Sunday nights so we can enjoy them as one of our side dishes all week! My love for summer squash first blossomed when I was learning...

Udon Miso Soup

Apolinaras and I ventured back to HMart on Super Bowl Sunday and enjoyed big bowls of udon soup for lunch from the Japanese section of food court. We always go back and forth on what to order because everything looks so tasty, but I think we made a good choice,...

Chicken Florentine Soup

Wow – I was hoping we were done with the snow for this year, but Mother Nature had other plans for the Northeast. I actually don’t mind the snow too much, because I don’t have to worry about driving on the slick roads. I have a pair of cute snow boots (thanks Mom!)...