Soup is one of those things that people naturally turn to once winter hits. It’s comforting, filling and best of all, can be made in less time than you might think. Soup is a welcome repast on a frigid night and can usually be made in less than a half an hour (provided that you have already roasted the vegetables for the roasted vegetable soup).
Roasted vegetable soup
This thick soup is a meal in a bowl. It’s hearty and delicious and you really only need some good crusty bread to round out your meal. The beautiful thing is that you can make the vegetables up to 2 days ahead and change them up as you see fit.
o 1 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
o 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks
o 4 cups broccoli florets
o 1/3 cup fruity olive oil
o ½ tsp. salt
o ¼ tsp. pepper
o 1 onion, chopped
o 2 large cloves garlic, minced
o 6 cups (approx.) chicken or vegetable stock
Preheat the oven to 400. Toss together the carrot and sweet potato chunks and the broccoli florets in a large bowl along with 5 tbsp. of the oil, salt and pepper, until the vegetables are well coated. Spread on an aluminum-foil lined large baking sheet. Spread the vegetables as much as possible to make sure they are in a single layer.
Roast in the centre of the preheated oven, stirring once, until all of the vegetables are very soft, 35 to 40 minutes. (The vegetables can be cooled down and refrigerated for up to 2 days).
Heat the remaining oil in a Dutch oven or a large saucepan set over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add all of the roasted vegetables, stirring until well coated with the onion mixture. Pour in the broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes to allow the flavours to meld. Using an immersion blender or a regular blender, puree the soup, adding up to 1 cup more broth if the mixture becomes too thick. Serve hot. Makes 6 servings.
Squash soup with star anise
The smashed garlic and ginger root perfume this soup along with the star anise. They don’t break apart during the cooking so it’s easy to fish them out of the broth before you purée the soup. If you prefer a stronger garlic flavour, simply mince both the garlic and the ginger root and only remove the whole anise before you purée the soup in a blender.
o 1 tbsp. olive oil
o 8 green onions, chopped
o 2 large cloves garlic, smashed
o 1 piece peeled fresh ginger root, about 1-1/2 in. large
o 3 whole star anise
o ¾ tsp. salt
o o ½ tsp. pepper
o 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-in. chunks (about 8 cups)
o 4 cups (approx) chicken or vegetable stock
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or a large saucepan set over medium heat. Keeping aside two tbsp., add the green onions. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in the garlic, ginger root, star anise, salt and pepper, stirring until well coated with the green onion. Stir in the butternut squash. Pour in the chicken stock. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the squash is very tender. Remove the garlic, ginger root and star anise. In a regular blender or using an immersion blender, purée the soup, adding up to 1 cup more stock if the soup is too thick . Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve garnished with the reserved green onion. Makes 6 servings.
