There’s something truly magnificent about a big bushel of early autumn carrots, caked in muck and crowned with a burst of green fronds. In recent times, I’ve cut out peeling carrots if I’m roasting them — just give them a good scrub, cut in half, drizzle with oil and stick them in the oven. The natural sugars in the vegetables naturally caramelise, giving them a delicious toasty flavour. While this makes a lovely side dish, in the recipe here I’ve whizzed them into a soup. You roast the carrots with onions and garlic and then add stock, simmer and blend.