Roast em and stew em - that's all
there is too em!
I don't know about y'all, but I roast
just about everything I can. Veggies, fruit and meats all get nice and toasty
and caramelized from high heat and a little salt to draw out the moisture.
Roasting veggies has become my MO for getting picky eaters (y'all know who you
are) to eat all kinds of veggies. Broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts,
okra, zucchini, squashes of all sorts and onions too all find their way into
the oven and onto plates. Roasted sweet potatoes with rosemary and onion... Oh
my my!
I love, love, love vegetable soup.
But I have a few stipulations to this stew of sorts. I don't care for potatoes
in my veggie soup - can't say why exactly but I don't. Potato soup though is
perfectly fine!
I also want my vegetable soup to be
seasonally apropos. Modern grocers and canning allows us to eat summer produce
in winter but there's something about keeping a seasonal nod to the soup that's
quite enjoyable. For me it's the squashes and Brussels sprouts that make this
soup fallish!
Another veggie soup stipulation - I
don't love frozen veggies to make my soup. I love that this soups freezes but
that's a whole other lesson in chemistry in frozen fresh and frozen cooked
food. Canned, fresh or "put up" from summer are just fine. In a
pinch, the frozen kind will work.
A big ol Dutch oven or big soup pot
and a couple roasting pans is all you'll need for cooking - love a one pot, one
pan meal!
For my Autumn Veggie Soup, I use a mélange
of roasted veggies and a base of onion browned with pancetta or country ham.
"Brown the onion first." Mimi and Mama taught me that. Can't go wrong
with browned onions as a start to any supper!
As for the stock, a mix of chicken
stock and tomato juice is the key. A third to two thirds respectively is good.
More or less depending on how "soupy" you want your soup.
Slice and drizzle with olive oil and
salt and pepper and then roast some broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts,
autumnal squashes of your liking and even a pepper or two until browned and
nearly crisp. They'll reconstitute in the soup!
To the browned onion and ham, throw
in some celery too, for I truly believe that celery is unmerited for its cooked
flavor. Add canned, crushed, stewed and/or freshly chopped tomatoes to cook
down with the browned onions and allow their acidity to deglaze the pan.
Season liberally as you add
ingredients, simmer and serve! My family loves Pepper Jack cheese on just about
anything and this soup is no exception.
I think that pancetta and Brussels
sprouts were made for one another - they're romance of finding one another in
the soup pot is truly and story for the ages.
Plus, y'all, this soup can feed
pharaoh's army and "freezes beautifully" (Steel Magnolias... Need I
say more?). Whip up a batch of cornbread or make quesadillas or grilled cheese
(same thing almost right?) or simply serve on its own. This soup gets better as
is sits, so enjoy again the next night.
Take some flavors of the season and a
traditional soup too and you've a feast! I hope y'all are enjoying fall - it's
flavors, temperatures and scenery!
