Vegan Garam Masala Carrot Soup

​The countdown begins: twenty-seven days until Halloween. The pumpkins have found a rightful place in the house. Pumpkin lights are up and dare I say cinnamon-apple-cider candles are lit and wafting their collective fragrance throughout the house. The boyfriend is asking for caramel apple cheesecake—which is a sure sign that autumn is here (at least inside our house). He does not get as excited as I do for fall to arrive [Ed. Note: Perhaps it's the annual fall reminder of how aged I have become, but I digress], but does enjoy the autumnal foods and cute costumed kids ringing our doorbell on the 31st.
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Although this post is not a pumpkin recipe [Ed. Note: Spoiler alert--next week], it's the perfect transitional dish through the end of our regular bay-area Indian summers, when  the Oregonian in me is chomping at the bit for crisper "soup, sweater, boot" weather.
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In the meantime, enjoy this healthy, flavorful soup.

Adapted from: A Beautiful Plate
Number of servings: 3-4 (makes 4 cups)

Ingredients

• 1 ½ pounds medium carrots, trimmed, peeled, sliced lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 medium yellow onions, chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons (liquid state) coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons ground garam masala 
• small pinch of ground cayenne pepper
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 can (13 or 14 ounces) full-fat coconut milk (or light)
• juice of half a lime
• freshly ground pepper
• microgreens, for garnishing (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 °F with rack in the center position. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil. Place carrots and onions on sheet pan, drizzle with coconut oil (or extra virgin olive oil), ground garam masala, cayenne pepper, and salt. Toss vegetables with your hands to evenly coat. Spread into an even, thin layer.
2. Roast carrots and onions until lightly caramelized and very fork tender, tossing them halfway through, about 25 to 35 minutes.
3. Place the coconut milk (reserve about 1 to 2 tablespoons for drizzling and garnishing the soup) and 1 ¼ cups boiling hot water in a high capacity blender. If using a smaller blender, you may need to do this step in batches. Using the foil, transfer the roasted carrots and onions to the blender. Add lime juice. Puree until very smooth and creamy. If soup is too thick, add a few tablespoons of hot water at a time, until desired consistency is reached. Season the soup to taste with salt, pepper, and additional lime juice (if desired).
4. Serve soup hot from the blender, garnishing with a drizzle of coconut milk, olive oil, and fresh microgreens as desired.
5. NOTE: in the past, I used a hand-immersion blender for convenience, but I urge you to use a blender as the soup has a more velvety texture to it.