We are participating in a CSA program this summer. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. In the spring we sent a check to the Teal Tractor farm, and in June we started picking up a box of freshly picked produce at a nearby location each Monday. On Monday mornings we receive an email telling us what will be in our box that day, and they provide recipes that use the vegetables and fruits that we will be receiving. When our out-of-town family was here recently, I decided to make roasted vegetable soup one evening for dinner. I thought this soup would be a nice way to use up some of the veggies. It would also be a great way to expose the granddaughters (grandson was not here) to a new way of eating vegetables. They are good eaters who love healthy food, and they ate this right up.
Since I was using up the vegetables that I had on hand, I did not actually follow a recipe. However, I read the Barefoot Contessa’s recipe before I proceeded so I could see the process. Her recipe is the one I am sharing with you here today. For our soup, I used potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, tomatoes, kale, zucchini, and yellow squash. I did make croutons for the top of the soup, and the girls loved them. I also shredded some Parmesan cheese on the top which was a nice touch. So, the bottom line is that you can follow Ina’s directions, but use any veggies you want. This soup was even more flavorful the next day.
Roasted Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound carrots, peeled
- 1 pound parsnips, peeled
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled
- 1 small butternut squash (about 2 pounds), peeled and seeded
- 3 tablespoons good olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Cut the veggies into pieces measuring about 1 - 1 1/4 inches.
- Spread the vegetables on one or two baking sheets.
- Drizzle them with olive oil, salt,and pepper. Mix well with your clean hands.
- Bake 25 to 30 minutes or till done.
- When they are done, heat 3 cups chicken stock in a large stock pan.
- Coarsely puree the roasted vegetables and the chicken stock in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade (or use a handheld blender). Pour the soup back into the pot and season, to taste. Thin with more chicken stock and reheat. The soup should be thick but not like a vegetable puree, so add more chicken stock and/or water until it's the consistency you like. .
- Top with croutons and Parmesan cheese. (optional)
Let us know if you make this roasted vegetable soup. If you would like a dessert suggestion to go with it, how about this southern pound cake? Thanks so much for spending part of your day with us.
Take care.
I made Ina’s roasted vegetable soup every two weeks last winter. I just love it. The other day I made a wonderful hacked Watermelon Gazpacho. Excellent.
Good job, Beth.
Will you share how you made your croutons? I have never tried that and yours look yummy!
Kitty, I spread butter onto some leftover hamburger buns (from our July 4th cook-out), sprinkled garlic salt on them, and cut them into cubes. I then baked them at 350 degrees until they were crisp. Some people fry them. Be sure to keep an eye on them so they don’t burn. I am sure that doing this with bread would give you the same results.