Healthy Eats: Roasted Carrot Soup With Pistachios

Get your beta-carotene fix with this awesomely delicious and easy soup recipe, a combination of sweet, oven-roasted carrots and parsnips that are pureed until velvety smooth.

With ingredients found in your fridge and pantry, this roasted carrot soup is simple to whip up, and, topped with crunchy, candied pistachios, it’s a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.

Ingredients

Candied Pistachios

3 tbsp corn syrup
1 tbsp sugar
¼ tsp kosher salt
1¼ cups shelled pistachio nuts

Roasted Carrot Soup

2 lbs carrots, peeled and cut into 1½-inch cubes
2 large parsnips, peeled and cut into 1½-inch cubes
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp honey
½ tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp butter
¾ cup chopped red onion
8 cups chicken broth
¼ tsp kosher salt

Directions

1) For the pistachios, preheat oven to 325ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, combine corn syrup, sugar, salt and nuts. Spread on prepared baking sheet and bake 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Remove from oven, cool completely and chop into coarse pieces. These can be made up to 2 days ahead and stored in an airtight container.

2) For the soup, preheat oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat with non-stick cooking spray.

3) In a large bowl, toss carrots, parsnips, olive oil, honey and 1/2 tsp salt. Pour onto prepared baking sheet in a single layer. Bake 35-40 minutes, stirring once halfway through. Remove from oven when carrots and parsnips are tender and lightly browned. Set aside.

4) In a large soup pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender but not browned, about 3-4 minutes. Add the roasted carrots, parsnips and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook until carrots and parsnips are extremely tender, about 40 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

5) Using a hand held or countertop blender, puree soup until smooth. Season with 1/4 tsp salt and garnish each serving with 1 tbsp chopped candied pistachios.

Serves 6-8