
Spiced Roasted Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup with Kale Pesto
Hello, hello and Happy Fall! I’m Katie from Butterlust, and it’s been quite some time since I’ve shared a recipe with you, so I’m excited to be back, right in the middle of my favorite season of the year.
There are so many wonderful things about the changing of the seasons. The deep, orange and crimson hues of the transitioning leaves, pumpkins everywhere, and just enough chill in the air to warrant finding an excuse to cozy up in a fluffy sweater, without the hassle of dealing with below-freezing temperatures. (I’m from the South, can you tell?) But perhaps my absolute favorite thing about fall is the food. Summer produce is fantastic, but warm fall spices and steaming hot mugs of comfort? Swoon.
This Roasted Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup with Kale Pesto is a nod to the best of the season. Carrots, sweet potatoes, garlic and onion are first roasted until perfectly caramelized in order to bring out a depth of flavor that cannot be matched by a simple sauté. The dark crispy edges that come from a good roast are the stuff that flavor dreams are made of, and contribute beautifully to the complex, smoky flavor of this soup.
Once roasted, the vegetables are pureed and then simmered with a blend of fall spices, including our secret ingredient: whole star anise. The anise adds a subtle hint of licorice flavor that lingers in the background, almost undetectable, but gives this soup an extra oomph that takes it past delicious to completely irresistible. To balance the sweetness of the roasted vegetables, I love to serve this soup with a generous drizzle of kale pesto -- slightly bitter with an acidic punch from lemon juice, it’s a game of balance and these two make a perfect pair.
But it wouldn’t be a fall-inspired dinner without a great glass of red, right? Kendall-Jackson’s Jackson Estate Trace Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon is rich and full-bodied, with notes of black fruit and licorice that stand up to this hearty soup while providing a lovely compliment to its spice. This is a cool-weather match that’s not be be missed, so grab your best wine glasses and your coziest slippers, light a fire in the fire place and settle in for one very delicious November evening. Cheers!