Roasted Carrot Parsnip and Ginger Soup

This thick and creamy soup is the per­fect stick-to- your-ribs meal for a chilly, win­ter night – fill­ing you up with good­ness with­out weigh­ing you down with flour and cream. Anti-inflam­ma­to­ry gin­ger warms you up from the inside out, aids in diges­tion and helps keep your joints feel­ing fab­u­lous in the cold weather. 

Quinoa may look tiny and insub­stan­tial, but actu­al­ly the mighty seed is a plant-based com­plete pro­tein, keep­ing you full and ener­gized for hours. I rec­om­mend serv­ing the soup with a side of almond flour crack­ers or roast­ed tem­peh strips!

Gluten-free, Vegan, Soy-Free

Ingredients

Use organ­ic when­ev­er possible

• 1 pound car­rots, peeled and coarse­ly chopped
• ½ pound parsnips, peeled and coarse­ly chopped
• 1−1.5 inch fresh gin­ger, peeled and sliced*
• 2 table­spoons coconut oil, melted
• 4–5 cups veg­etable broth*
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 2 cups water
• Sea salt to taste

Instructions

1. Pre­heat oven to 425℉
2. In a large bowl, com­bine car­rots, parsnips, gin­ger and coconut oil
3. Spread mix­ture out onto 2 large pans lined with parch­ment paper and sprin­kle with sea salt
4. Roast for 40 min­utes, stir­ring halfway through
5. While veg­eta­bles are roast­ing, bring water to a boil in a large pot
6. Once boil­ing, stir in quinoa and turn heat down to low
7. Cov­er pot and sim­mer until all liq­uid is absorbed, about 15–20 minutes
8. Remove quinoa from heat, fluff with a fork and put aside to cool slightly
9. Once roast­ed, remove veg­eta­bles from the oven and place in a stock pot with 4–5 cups broth (4 for a very thick soup)
10. Use an immer­sion blender to com­bine broth and veg­eta­bles until smooth (alter­na­tive­ly, place in a blender with the cap removed and a cloth cov­er­ing the hole, to allow steam to escape).
11. For a chunky soup, stir in all of the quinoa unblend­ed, and for a smooth soup, blend in all of the quinoa. I rec­om­mend blend­ing 75% of the quinoa until smooth, and leav­ing 25% unblend­ed for texture
12. Heat on low for 5–10 min­utes if need­ed, serve and enjoy!

*Notes

You can sub pow­dered gin­ger for the fresh slices, but roast­ing the slices real­ly brings out the fla­vor (and makes your kitchen smell amaz­ing, to boot!). If you aren’t serv­ing the entire pot the night you make the soup, you may need to add more liq­uid when reheat­ing as the quinoa will soak up a lot overnight.