Roasted fall vegetable soup
This is what I made for dinner last night. It was super yummy, not too difficult, and healthy. Since it had all these things going for it, I thought I'd share it with you.
The recipe is originally from the Everyday Food magazine, though I have changed it a little bit and made the amounts more suitable for a family my size. Consequently, it now makes a lot, but because it is just vegetables, broth and wine it should freeze quite nicely. So go ahead and make the full amount and have a couple extra meals on hand in the freezer.
First, roast the vegetables. The most time consuming part of this is the chopping. I suggest doing it early in the day and then everything will be ready to throw the soup together right before you eat. You'll need:
2 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into ~1-2 inch dice
3 lb small, new red potatoes, scrubbed and cut in half
3-4 red onions, peeled and quartered
2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into sections
8-10 cloves garlic, minced
Mix all the cut vegetables with some olive oil, place on baking sheets (I used 3 large ones) and roast at 450 degrees for about an hour. Stir occasionally and rotate the baking sheets half way through. Once these were all done, I let them cool on the counter until I was ready for them.
To make the soup:
Fill a large stock pot with 8 cups of water plus 1 or 2 vegetable broth cubes... or use homemade or canned vegetable broth if you have it. Heat the water not quite to boiling and add the roasted vegetables. Keeping the soup on low heat, take an immersion blender and blend the vegetables. Once the soup is pureed, add more water if it seems too thick and 1 cup of red wine (optional). Add salt to taste. Heat through and serve with homemade croutons.
Croutons
Slice bread (I use whole wheat) into cubes. Mix bread with olive oil and seasoning of choice... I've used various combinations of basil, oregano, and garlic salt. Set broiler on high. Place bread into a baking dish and broil. Stir often and keep an eye on them because once they start to brown they can burn quickly. Take out when toasty brown. Serve sprinkled on soup.
Everyone liked it except for the child who doesn't care for soup without identifiable stuff in it. But she doesn't really care for soup anyway. Try it.
One note about immersion blenders. Do you own one? If you make soup, I highly recommend one. Instead of having to use a lot of pots and fill-up the regular blender in batches, all you do is take the immersion blender and blend the soup right in the pot. It is marvelous. If you need to make a wish list for Christmas, put one on it. I guarantee you'll make soup a lot more often if you own one.
The recipe is originally from the Everyday Food magazine, though I have changed it a little bit and made the amounts more suitable for a family my size. Consequently, it now makes a lot, but because it is just vegetables, broth and wine it should freeze quite nicely. So go ahead and make the full amount and have a couple extra meals on hand in the freezer.
First, roast the vegetables. The most time consuming part of this is the chopping. I suggest doing it early in the day and then everything will be ready to throw the soup together right before you eat. You'll need:
2 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into ~1-2 inch dice
3 lb small, new red potatoes, scrubbed and cut in half
3-4 red onions, peeled and quartered
2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into sections
8-10 cloves garlic, minced
Mix all the cut vegetables with some olive oil, place on baking sheets (I used 3 large ones) and roast at 450 degrees for about an hour. Stir occasionally and rotate the baking sheets half way through. Once these were all done, I let them cool on the counter until I was ready for them.
To make the soup:
Fill a large stock pot with 8 cups of water plus 1 or 2 vegetable broth cubes... or use homemade or canned vegetable broth if you have it. Heat the water not quite to boiling and add the roasted vegetables. Keeping the soup on low heat, take an immersion blender and blend the vegetables. Once the soup is pureed, add more water if it seems too thick and 1 cup of red wine (optional). Add salt to taste. Heat through and serve with homemade croutons.
Croutons
Slice bread (I use whole wheat) into cubes. Mix bread with olive oil and seasoning of choice... I've used various combinations of basil, oregano, and garlic salt. Set broiler on high. Place bread into a baking dish and broil. Stir often and keep an eye on them because once they start to brown they can burn quickly. Take out when toasty brown. Serve sprinkled on soup.
Everyone liked it except for the child who doesn't care for soup without identifiable stuff in it. But she doesn't really care for soup anyway. Try it.
One note about immersion blenders. Do you own one? If you make soup, I highly recommend one. Instead of having to use a lot of pots and fill-up the regular blender in batches, all you do is take the immersion blender and blend the soup right in the pot. It is marvelous. If you need to make a wish list for Christmas, put one on it. I guarantee you'll make soup a lot more often if you own one.
Comments
I LOVE my immersion blender for soup. :-)