Roasted Tomato & Carrot Soup with Mozzarella-Thyme Croutons

To roast the veggies:
Place tomatoes on baking sheet. Add the onion wedges, garlic cloves, and whole carrots to the pan. Drizzle with olive oil to coat and sprinkle it all with salt, pepper and thyme leaves (removed from the stems).

Roast for 30-40 minutes or until tomatoes have reduced in size by half and carrots are easily pierced with a fork/knife. Let cool slightly.

For the soup:
While the pan cools, add your stock to a soup pot and bring to a low simmer. Scrape everything from the baking sheet right into the pot, including any brown bits or juices (that’s where all the best flavours live!).

Let it simmer for 10 minutes.

For the croutons:
While soup simmers, take sliced baguette pieces, drizzle them with olive oil and top with a round of mozzarella. Place the cheesy toasts on a pan, set oven to broil and pop them in. Let them broil for 2 minutes (peeking after 1 to make sure nothing is burning). Remove and sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves.

To finish the soup:
Add the paprika to the soup and puree everything in the pot up with a blender (immersion or otherwise) until smooth. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed. Ladle into bowls, top with your big, cheesy croutons and finish with fresh ground pepper.

Recipe adapted from Sprouted Kitchen.