Roasted vegetable soup
This is a recipe I've used for years, one I sort of made up and sort of copied from somewhere else. It works for almost every kind of veggie, and it's pretty straightforward to use. I made it yesterday with pumpkin, and on a whim took a bunch of pictures of the process. I thought I would post them here. :-)
For this recipe I used pumpkin. I had two small pie pumpkins, and though I only need one for the soup, I cut up and roasted both of them. The other will be made into pumpkin bread later today. I just cut these into fourths, cleaned out the seeds, rubbed them with olive oil, and then roasted them at 350 for about 45 minutes. With whatever veggie you're using, you basically just have to watch it while roasting to see when it's done. Roasting brings out the sweetness in veggies, and it's actually hard to over-roast them for this recipe.
All good soups start with mirepoix: celery, carrots, and onions, sauteed in butter and olive oil. I also threw in a little garlic after the veggies started to get translucent.
After the veggies were starting to get soft, I deglazed with some white wine (I used a chardonnay here) and then added about 3 cups of chicken stock. It's better if you make your own, of course, but we like to use demi-glace when we don't have time to make it.
Meanwhile, the pumpkin seeds are toasting in the oven. I don't wash them, just pick over them a bit, toss with a couple of tablespoons of melted butter, sprinkle with salt, and then roast at 300 for about 45 minutes.
The nice thing about roasting squashes is that you don't have to peel them first. The peels slide right off. This is the flesh of one small pumpkin, maybe about two cups?
The mirepoix with the wine and stock added has been simmering for a few minutes, and now I add the pumpkin. This will simmer another 5 minutes or so, until the carrots are fork tender.
When the soup is ready, it needs to be pureed. This is easiest with an immersion blender, but you could also use a food processor or a blender.
After blending:
Then add a little cream (I had half-n-half on hand), and salt and pepper to taste.
The finished soup! I like to put a little dollop of mascarpone cheese in a soup like this, and sprinkle with the toasted pumpkin seeds. Yum!
For this recipe I used pumpkin. I had two small pie pumpkins, and though I only need one for the soup, I cut up and roasted both of them. The other will be made into pumpkin bread later today. I just cut these into fourths, cleaned out the seeds, rubbed them with olive oil, and then roasted them at 350 for about 45 minutes. With whatever veggie you're using, you basically just have to watch it while roasting to see when it's done. Roasting brings out the sweetness in veggies, and it's actually hard to over-roast them for this recipe.
All good soups start with mirepoix: celery, carrots, and onions, sauteed in butter and olive oil. I also threw in a little garlic after the veggies started to get translucent.
After the veggies were starting to get soft, I deglazed with some white wine (I used a chardonnay here) and then added about 3 cups of chicken stock. It's better if you make your own, of course, but we like to use demi-glace when we don't have time to make it.
Meanwhile, the pumpkin seeds are toasting in the oven. I don't wash them, just pick over them a bit, toss with a couple of tablespoons of melted butter, sprinkle with salt, and then roast at 300 for about 45 minutes.
The nice thing about roasting squashes is that you don't have to peel them first. The peels slide right off. This is the flesh of one small pumpkin, maybe about two cups?
The mirepoix with the wine and stock added has been simmering for a few minutes, and now I add the pumpkin. This will simmer another 5 minutes or so, until the carrots are fork tender.
When the soup is ready, it needs to be pureed. This is easiest with an immersion blender, but you could also use a food processor or a blender.
After blending:
Then add a little cream (I had half-n-half on hand), and salt and pepper to taste.
The finished soup! I like to put a little dollop of mascarpone cheese in a soup like this, and sprinkle with the toasted pumpkin seeds. Yum!