Roasted Root Vegetable Soup
Following on my last couple of posts about roasted vegetables, here is an alternate and incredibly easy use for roasted root vegetables: soup! My husband loves soup and although he prefers chunky soups to purees, I find a hot and hearty pureed soup really comforting. This is another way to repurpose one meal into another.
Roasted root vegetable soup is so simple to make, I don’t even think I need to post up separate instructions:
- Dump roasted root vegetables into a blender.
- Add some vegetable stock.
- Blend.
- Serve.
The thing about making roasted root vegetables is that I find it incredibly easy to make a massive amount at once. But eating roasted vegetables every night for a week can get a bit boring, so it is worth it to find alternate uses for them. If it is possible to make a huge amount of something one night so I can do minimal cooking the other nights of the week, I am game. Who doesn’t love a life hack like that?
Often when we repurpose leftovers, it’s tempting to just change them marginally. But they still retain the same mouthfeel, even if the flavors change a bit. By turning the roasted root vegetables into a soup, you completely alter their texture and taste. Normally when we eat roasted root vegetables, we taste each individual vegetable. You can close your eyes and tell if you are eating a potato, a carrot, or a beet. Even if you get a couple of different flavors in one bite, they are only marginally mixed and still identifiable. But once they are blended into a soup, the flavors meld seamlessly and create a new taste.
Simply adding all these vegetables to a pot, boiling, and blending will not give you the same result as roasting. Roasting is a process that tends to intensify and concentrate flavors. The caramelization process that takes place during roasting naturally intensifies the sweetness of even the most bland ingredients. Boiling and then blending will leave you with a soup that is much more bland and flavorless, whereas blending up roasted vegetables will give your soup all the oomph and power of sweet, concentrated flavors.
Another bonus of turning leftover roasted root vegetables into soup is the freeze factor. Roasted root vegetables cannot just be frozen as they are because some vegetables just will not maintain the right kind of texture and flavor when later defrosted, plus you’ll lose all the crunchiness that comes from roasting and be left with soggy cubes. Not appetizing! But once you blend all the vegetables up into a soup, you can definitely freeze it. Just remember that if your mixture contains potatoes, you will need to stir well when you reheat it to redistribute the moisture in the soup evenly throughout.
Perhaps the best part about this soup is that it is so easy and fast. Once you have your roasted root vegetables, you basically just need to spend one minute blending them. If they’re cool, then just heat and serve.
And of course, it is versatile, too. You can change the flavor of the soup dramatically depending on what vegetables in what amounts you’ve chosen to roast. Is it a sweeter soup with lots of things like pumpkin and beets? Or is it more savory, with flavors like potato and celeriac?
Changing the seasonings on the roasted root vegetables also dramatically changes the flavor profile of the soup. Make Indian-style curried root vegetables and you’ll have a curried soup. Italian herbs give you an Italian style soup. Virtually any flavor combination that works for roasted root vegetables works for roasted root vegetable soup, too.
Finally, jazz it up with different toppings. A soup heavy in orange colored vegetables, like pumpkin, carrot, and sweet potato, begs for a sprinkle of nutmeg and some toasted pumpkin seeds. Pine nuts and soaked raisins are the perfect topping for a Moroccan-style blend. Try sour cream and spring onions (or finely diced jalapenos) on a Mexican-style blend. A curried soup goes great with some yogurt and chutney on top. As far as toppings go, they sky’s the limit!
Because roasted root vegetables often include more starchy or high-calorie ingredients, a big bowl of this soup is satisfying enough to constitute an entire meal. Alternatively, serve it up as a pre-course, or even during the meal itself. A curried soup can be a nice side during a meal of thali while a Moroccan-style soup could even be poured over a mound of couscous.
Heat it up really hot before school and fill a thermos to send with your child as a healthy school lunch choice – it should still be hot, but not too hot, by the time they are ready to eat it.
To me, roasted root vegetable soup is the ultimate comfort food. It’s easy and fast and is a great way to repurpose leftovers. I hope you enjoy! We enjoyed it so much I completely forgot to take a picture until it was all gone!
