Roasted Carrot Soup with Five Spice, Curry and Smoked Paprika

Here is a great recipe for a snow day. I insist on local vegetables for my soups whenever possible and this one takes advantage of some sweet gems of carrots from Fagan's Farm in CBS. This is a very easy, delicious and healthy starter course or a perfect winter day lunch.

5 lbs carrots cut in 1 inch lengths
6 large cloves garlic, unpeeled
3 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to season

Toss all of the above together and roast in a single layer on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven until the vegetables are fork tender, about 45 minutes. You may need to take the garlic cloves out before this time if they have completely softened.

Transfer the roasted vegetables to a large pot and add

1 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
1 teaspoon ground thyme
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1  ½ to 2 litres of vegetable stock (low or no sodium is best)

Simmer over medium low heat for about a half hour before pureeing the soup in a standard blender or using and immersion blender. Taste the soup and do a final seasoning with salt and pepper before finishing the soup by adding:

juice of half a lemon
2 tablespoons clover honey

Stir well and serve.

NOTE: The amount of vegetable stock you add to this recipe varies, depending on the size of the vegetables and how thick you prefer your finished soup to be. You can always add more at the end if it is too thick when puréed.