Roasted carrot soup

From: https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/roasted-carrot-and-cashew-soup/17209/

This simple, creamy (but vegan) soup gets a dose of complexity and heat from the spices, which help balance the carrots’ natural sweetness. Pair with a dark, toasted bread, if you like, for a satisfying meal.  If you don't want to bother with the soup, the roasted carrots alone are delicious.  The garlic seemed to develop more and more each day, so although the taste was fine initially, I would decrease the garlic so that it was overwhelming on subsequent days.  And maybe increase the salt, pepper, coriander, sumac and pepper flakes a bit.  I thought it tasted better without the addition of vinegar at the end.

Make Ahead: The roasted carrots can be refrigerated for up to 5 days before finishing the soup.

Storage Notes: The finished soup can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 3 months.

SERVINGS:

Tested size: 6 servings; makes about 9 cups

INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds carrots, trimmed, scrubbed and cut into 2-inch pieces
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 medium shallot, quartered
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 teaspoon kosher salt, or more as needed
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more as needed
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground sumac
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
6 cups no-sodium-added vegetable broth - would start with only 4 cups and increase as needed.
1 cup (6 ounces) roasted, unsalted cashews
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk or cashew milk
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice or apple cider vinegar - I would omit, or maybe try the lime instead of vinegar.

DIRECTIONS:

1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with the rack in the middle.

2) In a large bowl, toss the carrots with the garlic, shallot, oil, salt, black pepper, coriander, sumac and red pepper flakes. Transfer to a sheet pan large enough for the carrots to fit in a single layer. Roast for 30 to 40 minutes, or until tender.

3) Meanwhile, heat the vegetable broth in a saucepan over low heat and keep warm.

Place 1/4 cup (1 1/2 ounces) cashews in a high-speed blender. Add the coconut milk and puree until smooth. Chop the remaining cashews for garnish.

Add the carrots and vegetable broth to the blender and puree until smooth. (If necessary, puree the soup in batches, combining about half of each — the stock, carrots and cashew puree — in each batch and stirring everything together again before serving.) Taste the soup and add more salt and pepper, if desired.

If needed, return the soup to the saucepan over medium heat and warm until heated through. Stir in the lime juice or vinegar and divide the soup among serving bowls. Top with chopped cashews and drizzle with olive oil. Serve hot.