Spicy Miso Carrot Soup

If you're making the crispy rice croutons (optional), cook the rice following packet instructions.

Heat your oven to 200°C / 180°C fan.

Peel and cut the carrots into 1cm slices, reserving the peels. Cut the onion into eighths. Smash the garlic cloves. Thinly slice the ginger. Roughly chop the red chilli.

Place the carrot peels in a small roasting tin. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with vegetable oil and toss to coat. Roast for 10 mins or until crisp.

Place the remaining veg in a large roasting tin. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with vegetable oil and toss to coat. Roast for 35 mins, or until the carrots are tender.

Meanwhile, heat the air fryer to 180°C. Mix the warm rice, pepper flakes and sesame seeds together in a bowl. Line a tin with parchment paper. Add the rice and push it down with a wooden spoon to compact into one even layer. Let it cool down fully before cutting into squares.

Toss the rice squares in a drizzle of oil, then place into the air fryer. Air fry for 7-15 mins, until golden and crispy (if your croutons haven't gotten crispy yet, air fry for another 4 mins).

Slice the ginger into small matchsticks and thinly slice the red chilli.

Heat the vegetable oil in a small saucepan. Add the ginger and chilli and cook for 1 minute, then add the mixed seeds and cook for a further minute. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, then set aside to cool.

Transfer the contents of the roasting tin to a blender. Add the white miso paste and vegetable stock and blitz until smooth. Pour into a saucepan and simmer over medium heat for 5 mins. Taste and adjust the salt level, to your liking.

Divide the soup between bowls. Top with a handful of crispy carrot peels and spring onions and finish with a spoonful or two of the chilli ginger oil, the tuck in and enjoy.