Roasted Vegetable Soup

January 12, 2015 by Susan

Most soups I make are prepared using the same method; sauteing onions, garlic and veggies in a pot on the stove and then adding stock and simmering away. This soup turns that method upside down! I loved the concept and it sounded so easy. Naturally, I thought, could it actually be good?

Oh yeah! So good. I am already a huge fan of oven roasting vegetables to eat as a side dish. Favorites are broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. I feel roasting the vegetables really brings out their flavor, so much more than, let’s say, steaming.

The other element that I love about this soup is that it includes eggplant. Eggplant! I haven’t come across many soup recipes with eggplant in them, have you? To be honest, you would be hard pressed to detect the eggplant in here. All the flavors of the vegetables blend well and are so delicious. Even the sage, it’s there in the background, not overpowering at all. The sage I used to make this particular pot of soup came from my garden, still going strong in December! It is a hearty herb, that sage.

I am happy to report that this soup recipe is quite forgiving. I think if you stick to the base vegetables (eggplant, carrots, potatoes) you can add some others (celery, parsnips) and it would be just as great. Making this recipe would be a great way to clear out your fridge of any root veggies that might be slightly past their prime. You can also comfortably make some substitutions. Don’t have shallots? Add an onion instead. Want this soup to be vegetarian? Use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock. Prefer it to be a touch thinner? Add more stock. Forgiving is good.

This roasted vegetable soup is very delicious and super comforting on a cold, snowy day (we’ve already had quite a few in the NY area). It is very thick, so it is filling and perfect on its own for a lunch or light dinner. And thick enough that my 3-year-old can feed herself this soup, which she loves.

Add a slice of toasted rustic bread to dip and you will be in heaven.

Here’s what you will need to serve 6-8…

Recipe

3-4 tbsp olive oil

1 large eggplant, peeled and chopped into 2 inch cubes

3 carrots, sliced into 1 inch pieces

3 large shallots, quartered

6 cloves garlic, whole

2 large Idaho potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1 inch chunks

6 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock)

3 large sage leaves

sea salt & pepper, to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Oil the bottom of a large, rimmed sheet pan with 1 tbsp of oil (rub it around with your fingers to coat) and add everything except the sage leaves. Add 2-3 tbsp of olive oil, salt & pepper and toss to coat. Arrange in a single layer.

Roast for 45 minutes, flipping vegetables once or twice, ensuring they brown slightly but do not burn. Remove pan from oven, add sage leaves on top of veggies on one side of the pan, and then pile the remaining veggies on top of the sage leaves. The heat from the veggies will wilt the sage. Allow to cool slightly.

In a high powered blender, add vegetables and broth in manageable batches. Pour into a large pot, heat slightly and serve or store in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.

Recipe adapted from Clean Eating Magazine

Roasted Vegetable Soup

Author: Feasts And Fotos

Ingredients

3-4 tbsp olive oil
1 large eggplant, peeled and chopped into 2 inch cubes
3 carrots, sliced into 1 inch pieces
3 large shallots, quartered
6 cloves garlic, whole
2 large Idaho potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1 inch chuncks
6 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
3 large sage leaves
sea salt & pepper, to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Oil the bottom of a large, rimmed sheet pan with 1 tbsp of oil (rub it around with your fingers to coat) and add everything except the sage leaves. Add 2-3 tbsp of olive oil, salt & pepper and toss to coat. Arrange in a single layer.
Roast for 45 minutes, flipping vegetables once or twice, ensuring they brown slightly but do not burn. Remove pan from oven, add sage leaves on top of veggies on one side of the pan, and then pile the remaining veggies on top of the sage leaves. The heat from the veggies will wilt the sage. Allow to cool slightly.
In a high powered blender, add vegetables and broth in manageable batches. Pour into a large pot, heat slightly and serve or store in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.

Stuffed Potatoes

June 29, 2009 by Susan

It’s 4th of July week (already?!) and everyone is preparing for BBQ’s. And praying for good weather, considering it’s rained practically every day this month. Awful! Well, keeping positive, here’s a post on delicious stuffed potatoes that are just perfect for a summer BBQ – rain or shine.

I’ve been making these stuffed cuties for a few years now and every time I do people rave about them. They are delicious and the perfect one or two bite appetizer. Basically, they are stuffed little red potatoes. The filling is creamy with a slight sharpness in the background from the blue cheese. If you don’t love blue cheese, cut back on how much you include. I usually don’t use the entire 1 cup, I add a little at a time and taste.

When making them, allow for 3-4 halves (2 potatoes) per person, at least. They will be devoured.

Here’s what you will need to serve approximately 10-12 people…

Recipe

24 new red potatoes, halved lengthwise

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup crumbled blue cheese (I end up using 3/4 cup usually)

1/2 cup crumbled, cooked bacon, plus more for garnish

1/3 cup (heaping) chopped parsley, plus more for garnish

1/4 red onion, finely chopped, plus more for garnish

Method

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Toss the potato halves with olive oil and mix well until each half is coated. Place cut side down on a baking sheet and bake until the skins are crisp and the potatoes are tender, roughly 30 minutes. The original recipe states 20-25 minutes, but in my oven it takes more like 30-40 minutes. Allow potatoes to cool.

Gently scoop out the center of each potato half and place in a medium bowl. Using a small ice cream scoop or melon baller is sometimes helpful for this step. You do not need to make yourself nuts getting all the potato out of the skin, some can remain inside. Actually, it’s best if some does remain inside, it will make the potato boats more sturdy. To the bowl add the sour cream, blue cheese, bacon, parsley and onion. Stir to mix together.

Fill each potato skin with the sour cream mixture and top each potato with more bacon, onion and parsley.

This recipe is adapted from the Grucci family.

Stuffed Potatoes

Author: Feasts And Fotos

Ingredients

24 new red potatoes, halved lengthwise
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1½ cup sour cream
1 cup crumbled blue cheese (I end up using ¾ cup usually)
½ cup crumbled, cooked bacon, plus more for garnish
⅓ cup (heaping) chopped parsley, plus more for garnish
¼ red onion, finely chopped, plus more for garnish

Method

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Toss the potato halves with olive oil and mix well until each half is coated. Place cut side down on a baking sheet and bake until the skins are crisp and the potatoes are tender, roughly 30 minutes. The original recipe states 20-25 minutes, but in my oven it takes more like 30-40 minutes. Allow potatoes to cool.
Gently scoop out the center of each potato half and place in a medium bowl. Using a small ice cream scoop or melon baller is sometimes helpful for this step. You do not need to make yourself nuts getting all the potato out of the skin, some can remain inside. Actually, it's best if some does remain inside, it will make the potato boats more sturdy. To the bowl add the sour cream, blue cheese, bacon, parsley and onion. Stir to mix together.
Fill each potato skin with the sour cream mixture and top each potato with more bacon, onion and parsley.

Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

December 1, 2008 by Susan

I love eating mashed potatoes as much as anyone. They are a perfect side dish to just about any meal. However, sometimes mashed potatoes can be…well…a little heavy. This recipe is a terrific, lighter alternative to the traditional mashed potatoes. The major ingredient is cauliflower, but no one would even know just by looking at this. I like my mashed potatoes to still have some texture to it, as opposed to being whipped/pureed. You can add more milk and butter if you want a creamier version.

Here’s what you will need to serve 4…

Recipe

1 cauliflower head, cut into pieces

3 potatoes, yukon gold or idaho, peeled & cut into medium chunks

1/4 cup – 1/2 cup nonfat milk, warm (use more if you want it to be more creamy)

1-2 tablespoon butter

fresh parsley, chopped

salt & pepper

Method

Steam cauliflower for about 15 minutes, until tender. In a medium sized pot, bring potatoes to a boil. Boil for about 10 minutes, or until soft. Drain potatoes and return them to the pot. Mash potatoes and cauliflower together. Add milk and butter and continue mashing until it reaches your desired consistency. Add salt & pepper to taste. Sprinkle in parsley and gently mix to combine.

Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

Author: Feasts And Fotos

Ingredients

1 cauliflower head, cut into pieces
3 potatoes, yukon gold or idaho, peeled & cut into medium chunks
¼ cup - ½ cup nonfat milk, warm (use more if you want it to be more creamy)
1-2 tablespoon butter
fresh parsley, chopped
salt & pepper

Method

Steam cauliflower for about 15 minutes, until tender. In a medium sized pot, bring potatoes to a boil. Boil for about 10 minutes, or until soft. Drain potatoes and return them to the pot. Mash potatoes and cauliflower together. Add milk and butter and continue mashing until it reaches your desired consistency. Add salt & pepper to taste. Sprinkle in parsley and gently mix to combine.

Brussel Sprouts and Bacon Hash

November 20, 2008 by Susan

When I was growing up brussels sprouts got such a bad rap. Hated by many. To be honest my mother never really made them so my only experience eating them was outside the home. And from what I remember, I didn’t like them. Flash forward to today and I’m making them! And I love them. Why on earth do so many people despise brussels sprouts? I’ve come to realize it’s most likely because they were prepared poorly and with a complete lack of creativity. Most people probably just boiled them and threw them in a bowl.

I do like to eat healthy and maintain a healthy lifestyle, so it seems logical I would one day incorporate brussels sprouts into my cooking. These adorable mini cabbages are loaded with vitamins, potassium, calcium and are very high in fiber, so they help to fill you up. And as luck would have it, they are low in fat and calories. November is prime time for brussels sprouts, so the markets are filled with them. You can see from the above photo that I took at the Union Square Farmer’s Market how they look before they are picked and presented to you in the grocery store. Quite dramatic, right?

Tyler Florence was the one that inspired me to make this dish. Last month my cousin and I got tickets to the NYC Food & Wine Festival and saw Tyler at a cooking demonstration. I love his shows and recipes and let’s face it, the guy’s adorable. We just loved him in person, he has such a great personality and is quite funny. Here’s a picture of him cooking away…

One of the recipes he prepared that day (and what he’s actually preparing in this photo) was this brussels sprouts and bacon hash number. It sounded interesting so I tried it at home and have to say it was really good. Actually, it was great. Yes, a brussels sprouts dish was great. I kid you not.

In this recipe the sprouts are actually sliced, which is a fantastic idea. I bet if you didn’t tell people this was a brussels sprouts dish they might not even notice! And there’s bacon in here – you can never go wrong with bacon. I did make one substitution, his recipe calls for pearl onions, I used shallots instead. That’s the only ingredient change I made.

Here is what you will need to make my version of this dish…

Recipe

5-6 slices of bacon (I use low sodium bacon), cut in a medium dice

1 pint of brussels sprouts

2 springs fresh thyme

6-8 fingerling potatoes (or small white potatoes), cut in half and then in half again

2 large shallots

1/2 cup low sodium chicken stock

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1-2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped

Method

Saute bacon in a large pan until just starting to crisp. Remove from pan and discard 1/2 of the fat renderings. To the renderings add the brussels sprouts, shallots, potatoes and thyme and stir. Season with pepper and a little bit of salt (the bacon is salty so be careful). Cook until slightly browned. Add chicken stock and steam for 5- 10 minutes, until veggies are tender and most of the liquid has evaporated. I put the lid on the pot for part of this time. Add balsamic vinegar and toss to coat. Add the bacon back to the pan and stir all ingredients together to combine. Sprinkle with parsley and serve. And now for the final product…

If you have any leftovers do yourself a favor and put a fried egg over this hash in the morning. You’ll thank me.

Tyler’s original recipe can be found here http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/bacon-and-brussels-sprout-hash-recipe/index.html

Brussel Sprouts and Bacon Hash

Author: Feasts And Fotos

Ingredients

5-6 slices of bacon (I use low sodium bacon), cut in a medium dice
1 pint of brussels sprouts
2 springs fresh thyme
6-8 fingerling potatoes (or small white potatoes), cut in half and then in half again
2 large shallots
½ cup low sodium chicken stock
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1-2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped

Method

Saute bacon in a large pan until just starting to crisp. Remove from pan and discard ½ of the fat renderings. To the renderings add the brussels sprouts, shallots, potatoes and thyme and stir. Season with pepper and a little bit of salt (the bacon is salty so be careful). Cook until slightly browned. Add chicken stock and steam for 5- 10 minutes, until veggies are tender and most of the liquid has evaporated. I put the lid on the pot for part of this time. Add balsamic vinegar and toss to coat. Add the bacon back to the pan and stir all ingredients together to combine. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.