Ginger Carrot Soup [V] [GF]

This soup recipe sort of came to me out of the blue as a preliminary course to be served prior to a main course of vegan stroganoff.  It has a hearty, autumnal flavor and could also go well with poultry or other traditional fall meals.  Like the stroganoff with which I paired it, it's completely vegan and, if it's appropriate for me to offer my extremely biased opinion, quite tasty.  It's also reasonably easy to make, although the cooking of the lentils, which form the backbone of the soup base, takes a little bit of time.

• 3 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
• 1 medium seedless orange, peeled
• ¼ cup frozen sweet corn
• ⅛ cup dry yellow lentils (toor dal)
• 1 Tbsp. peanut oil
• 1½ tsp. dry ginger
• 2 tsp. salt, or to taste
• ½ tsp. dry basil
• ⅛ tsp. poultry seasoning
• ¼ tsp. dry rosemary leaves
• ¼ tsp. turmeric
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• 1 pinch cloves
• 1 pinch allspice

Place the oil in the bottom of a medium saucepan and fry the ginger, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and poultry seasoning in the oil for 2-3 minutes on medium head. Add 3 cups water and the lentils and bring them to a boil for approximately an hour, or until the lentils are cooked, adding water as necessary in order to maintain a constant volume of stock. Twenty minutes into this cooking process, add the rosemary, pepper, and salt. While the lentils are cooking, process the carrots and the orange together in a food processor until the mixture is essentially homogeneous. When the lentils have finished cooking, turn the heat down to medium and add the carrot-orange mixture and the corn to the saucepan. Continue cooking for 5-10 minutes until the corn and carrots are cooked. Serve hot.