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You are here: Home / Recipes / Gluten-free / Roasted root vegetable soup

Roasted root vegetable soup

by Jeanne Horak on February 3, 2008 17 Comments in Gluten-free, Soup, Vegetable side dishes, Vegetarian, Weekend Herb Blogging

roasted-root-vegetable-soup

Every now and again, the stories pop up in the tabloids.  The image of the Virgin Mary on a grilled cheese sandwich or in a piece of watermelon.  The image of Mother Theresa on a cinnamon bun.  The image of Jesus on a tortilla.

I tend to do a bit of eye-rolling and turn the page, never thinking that I’d one day be caught up in an unexplained sighting of my own.

You see, with the weather being cold and grey, my natural instinct is to make soup and lots of it.  Our Sunday night routine when I was a child invariably included soup and I have seen no reason to discontinue the trend here in London:  Sunday night is soup night. 

I have never cared much for soup from a can or a packet.  The latter might be OK for a quick warm snack, but it’s not really a meal.  And besides, I want to know what’s going into my soup!  So you’d think if I made it myself, this should present no problems.

I decided on roasting the vegetables before turning them into soup for two reasons:

1.  Roasting them imparts far more flavour than steaming or boiling.

2.  Roasting means the vegetables absorb no moisture during the cooking, meaning that the flavours are not diluted.

And once they were roasted, it was quick and easy to mash them and add stock and milk until I reached the consistency I wanted. The taste was fabulous – all the sweetness of the sweet potatoes, carrots and onions balanced by the earthy Jerusalem artichokes.  Marvellous on a wintry evening. A quick drizzle of cream to garnish and we’re good to go.

But wait – what’s that?  An image of a seahorse has mysteriously appeared in my 100% vegetable soup!  I double check my ingredient list but nope, no seahorse there. Cue spooky Twilight Zone music.

So I guess there’s nothing for me to do but call the tabloids, publish my amazing story and then wait for the tour busses full of curious tourists to show up on my doorstep.

 

 

 

ROASTED ROOT VEGETABLE SOUP (serves 2-3)

Ingredients

1 large potato
2 sweet potatoes
2 Jerusalem artichokes
3 large carrots
1 large onion
extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp dried rosemary
1 Tbsp dried thyme
2 cups vegetable stock
1 cup milk
salt and freshly milled black pepper
cream to garnish

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 200C.

Peel the Jerusalem artichokes and the onion, and thoroughly scrub the other vegetables.  Chop them all into rough chunks.

Toss them all in olive oil, rosemary and thyme and arrange in a large shallow dish in a single layer.  Roasted them at 200C for an hour.

Transfer the vegetables to a large pot and mashed with a potato masher.  Add 2 cups of vegetable stock and a cup of milk and mix well.  (You can vary the amount of liquid, depending on how thick/runny/creamy you want your soup).

Use an immersion blender to puree the soup untilk smooth, then return the pot to the stove to heat through.  Season to taste and serve with a swirl of cream.

PS – no seahorses were harmed in the making of this soup 🙂

Whb_2_yrs_2I’m submitting this post as my entry to this week’s Weekend Herb Blogging, kindly hosted by Claudia at Fool for Food.

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  1. bee says

    February 4, 2008 at 1:07 am

    that soup looks really comforting. and the seahorse is unmistakable.

    Reply
  2. ejm says

    February 4, 2008 at 2:53 pm

    It DOES look like a seahorse! But I thought it was North America (with the great lakes iced over because it’s winter). I thought it was a nod to the origins of the Jerusalem artichoke (am I remembering my history lesson correctly? Didn’t the Jerusalem artichoke come from North America initially?)
    The soup sounds wonderful. I keep meaning to make soup from roasted instead of steamed vegetables. My sister was been raving about one she made not long ago with roasted squash, beets, garlic and onions. (She said that a lot of the beet pieces didn’t end up in the soup because they tasted so good right out of the oven.)
    -Elizabeth

    Reply
  3. brilynn says

    February 4, 2008 at 7:42 pm

    That is so cute! Can you guarentee me a seahorse if I make this soup too?

    Reply
  4. katy says

    February 4, 2008 at 8:39 pm

    oh yum… i have jerusalem artichokes from the farmer’s market this weekend and have been trying to figure out how to use them!

    Reply
  5. katie says

    February 4, 2008 at 8:51 pm

    But you ate the soup, right? So what will you show the clamoring hordes?
    I saw Jesus in the wood paneling on our bathroom wall one night, about 3 am….but that’s a different story altogether!
    Good luck with the fame thing….

    Reply
  6. Kalyn says

    February 5, 2008 at 1:29 am

    It certainly does look like a seahorse, so funny. The soup sounds delicious, especially with the rosemary and thyme. Both of those are so perfect with root vegetables. Jerusalem artichokes is something I still haven’t tasted (nor have I ever seen them for sale here, no idea why not.)

    Reply
  7. Bellini Valli says

    February 5, 2008 at 2:58 pm

    That’s what I thought when I saw the picture of the soup…and I was right…although it could be a mermaid facing the other way :)I love these kinds of soups by the way….so comforting!!

    Reply
  8. Rosemary says

    February 6, 2008 at 5:44 am

    This will be on my winter menu for sure, still too hot down here to eat it now.

    Reply
  9. Tiina says

    February 7, 2008 at 9:31 pm

    Your soup looks very appetizing, and it includes several of my favorite incredients i.e. sweet potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, rosemary and thyme! I will keep this recipe in mind for later.

    Reply
  10. african vanielje says

    February 8, 2008 at 9:02 am

    Great soup, a combo of my favourites, but I’m not so sure the photograph hasn’t been doctored. Will you be willing to submit it to inspection by a panel of experts?

    Reply
  11. Coffee and Vanilla says

    February 8, 2008 at 11:10 pm

    Jeanne,
    I love this recipe. I just made for the second time roasted red pepper and cauliflower soup, it was delicious… I can only imagine how yours taste. I will try it very soon… all I need to get are artichokes and sweet potatoes.
    Enjoy your weekend, Margot

    Reply
  12. Coffee and Vanilla says

    February 8, 2008 at 11:11 pm

    Jeanne,
    I love this recipe. I just made for the second time roasted red pepper and cauliflower soup, it was delicious… I can only imagine how yours taste. I will try it very soon… all I need to get are artichokes and sweet potatoes.
    Enjoy your weekend, Margot

    Reply
  13. Susan from Food Blogga says

    February 9, 2008 at 1:11 am

    I couldn’t agree more — roasting is the way to go. This is a wholesome, delicious looking soup. Hope you’re doing well, Jeanne. Cheers, Susan

    Reply
  14. Mallika says

    February 9, 2008 at 7:14 am

    I couldn’t agree with you more about the roasted vegetables. It’s my first day back and I’m craving a hot bowl f soup. Can I come over for dinner???

    Reply
  15. aforkfulofspaghetti says

    February 10, 2008 at 1:06 pm

    Absolutely perfect for these wintry days!

    Reply
  16. mustardseed says

    August 18, 2011 at 4:00 am

    Wow this looks so delicious! Roasting the vegetables is a great idea for the soup. I am sure this tastes absolutely divine! Have bookmarked this to try it out!

    Reply
  17. Marian says

    April 12, 2013 at 1:47 pm

    Please could you tell me another name for the mgumbi (the correct spelling :), the English name and the the scientific name?)- the small root vegetable that is eaten in South Africa?

    Thank you very much

    Marian

    Reply
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Jeanne Horak is a freelance food and travel writer; recipe developer and photographer. South African by birth and Londoner by choice, Jeanne has been writing about food and travel on Cooksister since 2004. She is a popular speaker on food photography and writing has also contributed articles, recipes and photos to a number of online and print publications. Jeanne has also worked with a number of destination marketers to promote their city or region. Please get in touch to work with her Read More…

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