Roasted Root Vegetable Soup

Friday, October 12th, 2007

When I made the Apples Roasted with Root Vegetables, there was enough to feed a small army! I still had half of it left in the refrigerator, and decided to turn it into soup! You could either follow the original recipe and reserve half, or follow the recipe below if you just want to make the soup.

Here is the recipe, halved:

1 1/2 cups tart apples, cored and cut into wedges
1 cup carrots, peeled, cut into 3/4 inch thick rounds
1/2 medium onion, cut into wedges
1/2 lb small red skin potatoes, cut into quarters
1 large sweet potatoes, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
1 cups parsnips, peeled, cut into 3/4 inch chunks 
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp dried thyme or 1/2 tsp fresh chopped thyme
1/4 tsp salt

For soup, add:
2 tsp minced garlic
4-5 cups water or chicken stock
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch of red pepper

Preheat oven to 425F

Combine apples, carrots, onion, red skin potatoes, sweet potatoes, and parsnips in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, thyme,  and salt. Toss to coat and spread vegetables evenly on a large baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until vegetables are tender and beginning to caramelize. 

Saute garlic over medium heat in a large saucepan for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant. Add 4 cups chicken stock or water, plus nutmeg and red pepper. Bring to a boil.

Add reserved vegetables. Simmer until the vegetables are warm (if using leftovers). Blend in batches, filling the blender halfway each time. Combine batches in a clean pot and add additional water or stock if too thick. Top with fresh ground black pepper.   

Shown below, garnished with a cinnamon stick:

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Apples Roasted with Root Vegetables

Monday, October 8th, 2007

Based on a tasty Fall recipe from www.MichiganApples.com, this dish combines tart apples with onions, potatoes, carrots and parsnips with light seasoning. The original recipe called for all of the apples and vegetables to be peeled, but I feel that peeling vegetables is a bit of a waste. I did peel the carrots and parsnips, but I wasn’t meticulous about it – a little bit of peel isn’t going to hurt anything. The recipe makes about 8 servings, so it can easily be halved if that is too much food.

3 cups tart apples, cored and cut into wedges
2 cups carrots, peeled, cut into 3/4 inch thick rounds
1 medium onion, cut into wedges
1 lb small red skin potatoes, cut into quarters
2 large sweet potatoes, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
2 cups parsnips, peeled, cut into 3/4 inch chunks 
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp dried thyme or 1 tsp fresh chopped thyme
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper 

Preheat oven to 425F

Combine apples, carrots, onion, red skin potatoes, sweet potatoes, and parsnips in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper. Toss to coat and spread vegetables evenly on a large baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until vegetables are tender and beginning to caramelize. Remove from oven and serve.   

Root vegetables on a baking sheet:

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Bake and serve:

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Baby Bok Choy Salad

Wednesday, July 18th, 2007

Original title: Bok Choy, Carrot, and Apple Slaw from the book Everyday Food: Great Food Fast.  This is a quick and easy side dish on a hot summer day. My cutting skills aren’t the greatest, so my salad wasn’t as uniform as the one pictured in the recipe, but it still tastes good. Try using toasted sesame seed oil instead of vegetable oil for Asian-style flavor.

1 lb baby bok choy (4 to 6 heads), halved lengthwise
1 apple, peeled and cut into matchsticks
2 large carrots, shredded
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp finely grated peeled ginger
salt and pepper, to taste

Rinse bok choy under cold water to remove grit. Cut crosswise into thin strips and place in a large colander. Sprinkle with 1 tsp salt. Toss to coat. Top with a heavy plate that fits inside colander and weight with skillet or another heavy object. Set in sink to drain.

In a large bowl, mix apple, carrots, lemon juice, oil, and ginger. Add bok choy, season with salt and pepper as desired.

Tip: to easily grate ginger, freeze prior to using. Also, toss apples in 1 tbsp lemon juice prior to mixing all items together to prevent browning. Toss remaining 2 tbsp with the rest of the ingredients.
 

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Italian Seasoned Vegetables

Monday, June 4th, 2007

Here is a quick and easy side dish from Simple & Delicious Magazine.

1 bag frozen vegetables (carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli), thawed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp italian seasoning
1 lemon, cut into wedges (optional)
aluminum foil

Preheat oven to 350F

Combine vegetables with oil, garlic and italian seasoning in a large bowl and mix well.

Using two sheets of aluminum foil (approx 12×14 in each), fold vegetables into a pouch. Add lemon wedges if desired.

Bake on a cookie sheet for 15 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender.