Maple Roasted Carrot Soup

4 Servings

1 kg carrots peeled and cut into 1cm slices
low-calorie cooking spray
1 tbsp maple syrup
a good pinch of salt
1 onion peeled and diced
4 garlic cloves peeled and crushed
3 cm thumb of ginger peeled and finely grated
1 red chilli deseeded and finely chopped (leave the seeds in if you like more spice)
1.2 litre vegetable stock (1 veg stock cube made up with 1.2 litre boiling water)
juice of half a lemon
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Scatter the carrots onto a baking tray and spray with low-calorie cooking spray. Place in the oven and roast for 30-40 minutes, until the carrots are just soft and browning at the edges.
Drizzle over the maple syrup and season well with a good pinch of salt. Return to the oven for a further 10 minutes. The carrots should be tender, golden and sticky.
Spray a saucepan with low-calorie cooking spray and place over a medium heat. Add the onions and gently fry for 6-8 minutes until golden and soft.
Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and cook for another minute.
When the carrots are cooked, add them to the pan, along with the stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes to allow the flavours to mingle.
Remove from the heat and carefully blitz with a hand blender until smooth. Squeeze in the lemon juice and season with salt and black pepper, if required. If the soup is too thick, you can add a little extra water until it reaches a consistency you like.
Serve and enjoy with a slice of crusty bread!

Don’t forget to share!
#pinchofnom