Roasted Vegetable Soup

Roast a variety of fall vegetables for dinner, and make soup the next day. Use what you have – I love a variety, but any one, two or three of these vegetables could stand on their own as a soup.

1 lb. carrots, scrubbed
1 lb. parsnips, scrubbed
1 large sweet potato, peeled
1 lb. turnips, scrubbed
8 small potatoes
8 shallots, skin off
8 Jerusalem artichokes
1 small hard squash, peeled and seeded
3 T. good olive oil
1 1/2 t. kosher salt
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F, and line two sheet pans with parchment. Cut the carrots, parsnips, sweet potato, Jerusalem artichokes squash, and turnips into uniform chunks, around 2- inches each. All the vegetables will shrink while baking, so don’t cut them too small. If the potatoes and shallots are bigger than your chunks, cut them in half.

Place all the vegetables in a single layer on 2 sheet pans. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss well. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until all the vegetables are tender and start to brown, turning once with a metal spatula. The vegetables can be served hot or at room temperature, or – added to stock at this point.

Start with 8 -10 cups of good stock, add the vegetables, a bouquet garni of parsley, fresh thyme and a clove or two of garlic, and simmer for 30 minutes. Cool the soup, and puree all or half of the soup in batches. This soup is delicious topped with a dollop of crème fraiche or Greek yogurt and some crunchy croutons, or just sprinkle some chopped chives.

Serves 6 – 8