Storm of Thoughts

Recipe: Roasted Vegetable Soup

Cold. Grey. Possibility of rain. In other words, the perfect time for soup. And no soup is better than Mom’s, right? This one is especially appropriate because it’s a great time for these roasted vegetables. All that’s missing is a comfortable couch, warm blanket - and maybe a book or great movie.

1 or 2 regular yellow onions, chopped, but not too small
1 red onion
4 stalks celery
4 or 5 carrots, peeled and sliced into big slices
4 parsnips, peeled and sliced into big slices
1 rutabaga (aka yellow turnip)
4 white turnips
3 or 4 white potatoes (russet is best)
1 or 2 sweet potatoes
8-10 cups broth
salt and pepper
parsley for sprinkling on top

This soup is very forgiving. You can add as much of one vegetable as you like and oven roast for longer or shorter, depending on how you like it.

Line two large baking sheets with foil. (You can spray with non-stick spray, but using non-stick foil is especially effective.) Clean and cut all of the vegetables, and, once placed on sheets, drizzle with olive oil.

Put the onions and celery together on a sheet and roast them in the oven for about 18 minutes.
Put carrots and parsnip together on a sheet and roast for 18 minutes.
Roast rutabaga and turnips for 16 minutes.
White potato (sort of small cubes) takes about 15 minutes.
Roast the sweet potato for 12 minutes.

As each veggie is done, add it to a large soup pot and cover with broth (about 10 cups for a large stock pot). You can use either chicken broth or, for a true vegetarian meal, vegetable broth. Cook for about an hour over medium heat and season to taste with salt and pepper.

At this point, you can serve the soup as is, or scoop a few large ladles-full into a food processor or blender and blend it to thicken the soup a bit. Either way is wonderful and, with some bread, makes a warm and hearty fall meal.

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