Baking and pop making

We had lovely weather at the Bondi farmers market this weekend and everyone was out in full force. We don't know if it was the weather, school holidays or the music but It turned out to be one of the busiest markets. There were also many lovely additions to the market including this amazing spiced fish banh mi and terrific tostadas. Throw in our smiling regular customers and you have a fantastic day.

                                                   

With all the Pure Pop making there is barely enough time in the day to bake or cooking anything else. So, when the opportunity is there we grab it. Georgi had mentioned some amazing biscuits she made for work and they happened to be from one of my favourite bakers and recipe writers Dan Lepard. Everything I have ever baked from his recipes always turns out amazingly well. After the market I grabbed some very special crunchy peanut butter and a slab of dark chocolate and set to work.

See the glistening chocolate blob still warm from the oven? Well I ate five. I really should have stopped at three but couldn't resist - yes they were that good. So what to do? Well make roast carrot soup of course! To balance that binge of sweet with something wholesome and made from vegetables - simple logic. 

One of the best and down right easiest dinners is roast "something" soup. Who would have thought humble roast cauliflower soup could taste so good? We'll lets just say my other go-to recipe inspiration Em taught me how to take the carrots from the bottom of the fridge and turn them into a comforting delight. I know this recipe off by heart but if you are looking for it you can find it below. Yay soup for dinner and lunch tomorrow!

Roast carrot soup with lemon, yoghurt and whatever herbs

Serves 6-8

1.2 kg carrots, preferably organic

70 ml olive oil

Finely grated rind and juice of 2 lemons

1 onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1.5 litres (6 cups) chicken or vegetable stock

200 gm thick natural yoghurt, plus extra to serve

Herbs such as mint, dill or parlsey, to serve

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Coarsely chop the carrots (no need to peel) and combine in a bowl with 30ml oil and lemon rind, season to taste and toss to combine and coat well. Spread on a large oven tray (or 2 smaller trays) in a single layer and roast until very tender and browned on the edges (11⁄4 - 11⁄2 hours).

2. Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add remaining oil, onion and garlic and sauté until very tender (4-5 minutes). Add stock and roast carrots, bring to the boil and cook for 15 minutes. remove from heat, add yoghurt and lemon juice to taste, the process with a hand-held blender until very smooth and thin to a soup consistency with water if required. Check seasoning and adjust to your taste. Refrigerate until required or keep warm if serving immediately.

3.  Serve roast carrot soup hot dolloped with Greek yoghurt. Em suggests herbs such as mint or dill but I happened to have parsley. 

Recipe from Em Knowles.