It may seem odd to turn on the oven when making soup, but roasting really is what makes this soup so spectacular. Roasting the vegetables caramelizes them and brings out nutty flavors that enhance all the other ingredients. Feel free to throw in just about any other vegetables you have lurking in your crisper drawer.
Roasted Vegetable Soup
Start to finish: 1 hour (15 minutes active)
Servings: 6
2 large yellow onions,
cut into wedges
2 medium zucchini, diced
2 medium summer squash,
diced
4 large carrots, peeled and
diced
2 medium potatoes, peeled
and diced
2 Tbs. vegetable or canola oil
Salt and ground black pepper
tsp. ground cumin
1 quart low-sodium chicken
or vegetable broth
Sour cream or yogurt,
to serve
Chopped fresh cilantro
or parsley, to serve
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the onions, zucchini, summer squash, carrots and potatoes. Drizzle the vegetables with the oil, then sprinkle with salt, black pepper and the cumin. Toss to combine.
Spread the vegetables evenly over 2 rimmed baking sheets. Roast until tender and browned, 30 to 40 minutes.
Working in batches, transfer the vegetables to a blender and puree until smooth. For each batch, pour in a bit of the broth to help puree.
As each batch is pureed, remove any fibrous bits by pouring it through a mesh strainer and into a large saucepan. When all of the batches have been strained, set the saucepan over medium heat. Stir in any remaining broth and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper, then ladle into bowls. Garnish with sour cream or yogurt and chopped herbs.
Nutrition information per serving: 160 calories; 45 calories from fat (28 percent of total calories); 5 g fat (0 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 24 g carbohydrate; 4 g fiber; 9 g sugar; 6 g protein; 260 mg sodium.