Recipes: Roasted Carrot and Pumpkin Bisque, Winter Roasted Carrots

Roasted Carrot and Pumpkin Bisque

Serves 4.

Note: Use pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling, which is seasoned. Bottled minced ginger is found in the produce department. Sometimes it's called bottled chopped ginger. You can substitute fresh ginger. We like just a pinch more than the ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, but season to taste.

2½ c. Winter Roasted Carrots (see recipe)

2 (14½-oz.) cans fat-free chicken broth, divided

1 (15-oz.) can pure pumpkin (see Note)

1 bay leaf

¼ tsp. pumpkin pie spice or more to taste (see Note)

¹/₈ tsp. ground cumin

Pinch cayenne pepper

½ c. low-fat milk

Pour the carrot mixture (cold is fine) into a blender or food processor. Add 1 can of the chicken broth, and blend at high speed until the vegetables are pureed, scraping down the sides as needed. The mixture will have small lumps.

Add the bay leaf and stir. Add the ginger, pumpkin pie spice, cumin, cayenne pepper and milk. Stir until well-blended. Remove from the heat and serve at once.

Nutrition information per serving:

Calories111

Carbohydrates19 g

Protein4 g

including sat. fat1 g

Cholesterol1 mg

Sodium689 mg

Calcium0 mg

Dietary fiber5 g

Makes 4½ cups.

Note: Sometimes the water sprinklers in supermarket produce sections waterlog the bags of baby carrots. Your carrots will brown properly if they have not been saturated with water.

Cooking spray

2 lb. baby carrots (see Note)

4 small onions

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. dried thyme

½ tsp. salt

¹/₈ tsp. black pepper

2 tsp. balsamic vinegar

Peel the onions and cut them into quarters. Cut the quarters in half again and add the pieces to the pan with the carrots.

Peel the garlic by placing the broad side of a chef's knife or other flat object over each clove and giving it a firm whack with your hand. Add the cloves to the pan. (Don't worry if the cloves break apart.)

Drizzle the olive oil over the vegetables, then sprinkle the thyme, salt and pepper over them. Stir and toss until the vegetables are coated with oil. Bake, uncovered, for 12 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and stir. Return the pan to the oven and bake 12 more minutes, stirring every 4 minutes, until the carrots begin to brown and are tender when pierced with a knife tip.

Remove the pan from the oven and drizzle the vinegar over the vegetables. Stir and toss until the vinegar is well-distributed. Serve ½-cup servings as a side dish. Cool the remaining vegetables and refrigerate in a covered container for up to 4 days.

Nutrition information per ½-cup serving:

Carbohydrates13 g

Protein2 g

Fat3 g

including sat. fat0 g

Cholesterol0 mg

Calcium0 mg