This is one thick soup. I’m not sure I meant it to be that way, but that’s how it ended up. I love its consistency though. As I was blending it up in the pot last night with my handy hand blender, I had to add water a few times. As it loosened up, I said, “Okay, that’s it. That’s perfect.” And it was. A perfectly rich and creamy vegetable soup. Just look at it.
The Recipe
There are some interesting vegetables that go into this soup. Butternut squash, rutabaga, carrots, parsnip, onions, leeks and a a few herbs. Combined, they offer a true vegetable soup that’s great during the month of October. The recipe calls for roasting these vegetables, along with some fresh herbs, in the oven. It suggests that the herbs lie on top of the vegetables and when everything is finished roasting, to throw away the herbs. I don’t agree with this method, so I’ll offer a different one. I’ll explain it down below.
The primary ingredients in this soup are butternut squash and rutabaga, so if you’re fond of those two, this may just be the soup for you. It sort of reminds me of a butternut squash soup or something with sweet potato in it. This one isn’t as refined though; it’s more rugged, if that makes sense. It’s good though, so you’ll definitely want to try it out. It fills you up.
Ingredients
Serves: 6-8
4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Small Butternut Squash, Peeled, Seeded and Cubed
2 Large Carrots, Cut into Rounds
2 Large Parsnips, Cut into Rounds
1 Small Rutabaga, Peeled and Cubed
2 Leeks, Whites Thickly Sliced and Cleaned Well
1 Large Sweet Onion, Peeled and Quartered
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
2 Teaspoons Dried Rosemary
2 Teaspoons Dried Thyme
3 Bay Leaves
5 Cups Vegetable Broth
Sour Cream, to Serve
Fresh Thyme as Garnish
Step-by-Step Instructions
I’d like to thank Valerie Ferguson for her cookbook called Vegetarian. This is the final recipe I’ll be pulling from it this round and it has served me well. Thank you.
Pre-Heat Oven
Arrange your oven racks so one is in the center position. Then, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Coat & Roast the Vegetables
Place all the prepped vegetables in a large bowl, along with the oil, salt and pepper. Mix these veggies well until they are all coated with the oil.
When ready, spread the contents of the bowl onto one or two large baking sheets. Add those sheets to the oven for 50 minutes. When finished, remove the trays from the oven and turn off the heat.
Simmer the Broth
You’re going to treat the herbs like tea. In a saucepan that can hold the five cups of broth, add the broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Then, reduce the heat to medium-low and place the thyme, rosemary and bay leaves into a small screen strainer. Rest the strainer over the broth so the herbs are submerged and let the broth simmer for five minutes. You can dunk the herbs a few times to agitate them, which may result in more flavor.
When finished, discard the herbs and transfer the broth to a large pot over high heat.
Simmer the Broth & Vegetables
Add the vegetables to the pot with the broth. When the liquid comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low and let everything simmer for ten minutes. After that, use a hand blender to blend everything well right inside the pot or transfer the contents of the pot to a blender in batches. When finished blending each batch, transfer the soup to a different pot.
At this point, you can season to taste with some more salt and pepper.
Plate & Serve
Divide the soup between bowls. Top with some sour cream and the sprinkle some fresh thyme over that. Serve and enjoy!
The Final Vegetable Soup
I’ve been thinking about autumn the entire time I’ve been writing this post. This soup is just right for the season. Next time I make this, I’m going to double up on the ingredients so I have lots of leftovers. It makes a pretty good amount like this, but I’d like to freeze some as well. Anyway, if you give this recipe a try, please let me know your thoughts in the comment area down below. Thanks for reading!
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