Roast Carrot & Fennel Soup With Ginger

Ingredients

  • 1 kg Carrots
  • 1 Onion
  • 2 Bulbs Fennel
  • Olive Oil
  • 2 Cloves Garlic
  • 100 ml Cream
  • Ginger Pieces

Flat Bread

  • 1 tsp Fennel Seeds
  • 250 g Flour
  • 1/2 tsp Dried Yeast
  • 1 tsp Sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/gas 5.
  • Peel the carrots and onion, then trim and slice along with the fennel (reserving any herby tops, to garnish). Place in a roasting dish, toss with 2 tablespoons of oil.
  • Roast for 20 minutes, then add the unpeeled garlic cloves. Stir everything thoroughly and return to the oven for 20 minutes more, or until the vegetables are soft and browned.
  • Remove and discard the papery skins from the garlic cloves. Put the roasted veg in a large pan with the vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for 15 minutes, then liquidise with a stick blender, until completely smooth.
  • To make the flatbreads, toast the fennel seeds in a dry frying pan for 30 seconds or so, until fragrant. Crush roughly with a pestle and mortar, then pour into a bowl with the flour and ½ teaspoon of sea salt.
  • Dissolve the yeast and sugar in 100ml of hand-hot (not boiling) water, then add it to the flour mixture with the oil and 60 to 75ml of hot water and mix until you have a soft, but not sticky, dough. Knead for 5 minutes.
  • Pop the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with oiled clingfilm and set aside to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. Then, with oiled hands, divide the dough into 8 and roughly roll each one into a thin oval. Stack them up, separating them with baking paper to stop them from sticking together.
  • Heat a griddle pan until it’s smoking hot and add the flatbreads (you’ll need to do this in batches). Cook for a couple of minutes on each side, until charred and puffed up. Keep warm in a tea towel while cooking the rest.
  • Gently reheat the soup, and serve with a swirl of cream, a scattering of herby fennel tops (if you have them) and the hot flatbreads.