Roasted Vegetable Chowder

Need a bowl of comfort amidst the mishegas? You're not alone. Have I got a soup for you.

Frost was on the pumpkin this morning. Not to mention the Honda Fit. Even a pair of thick purple socks couldn't warm my icicle toes. Am I ready for this? For turning on the heat (I didn't- I refuse!)? Am I ready for winter boots? For- I hate to even think the word- dealing with that white stuff? Honestly? No. I was hoping- by now- to be wrapping my favorite wooden spoons and pottery bowls in yesterday's newspaper and heading to a friendlier winter on the Southern California coast (as evidenced by my refusal to buy a winter coat for two years now, because I kept visualizing a balmy January walking the Third Street Promenade).

But the real estate market is not cooperating with my denial- er, positive thinking. Buyers are squirrely and scarce- despite our lower asking price (we've dropped the price four times in seventeen months and, Dear Reader, the asking price is now below what we paid for it two-plus years ago, thank you very much). To define my mood as frustrated is semi-accurate. These days I am a salty, profane stew of emotions- and no, I'll not talk politics today. It might just nudge me over the edge. Beyond. And not in a good way.

I'll share a soup with you, instead.


Roasted Vegetable Chowder

This recipe for fall comfort food is adapted from a favorite soup recipe in my second cookbook. I've changed a vegetable or two and added wine. It's versatile. And flexible. My kind of recipe.

1 sweet onion, diced
5 cloves of garlic, peeled
2 medium gold potatoes, scrubbed, diced
1 large sweet potato, peeled, diced
2 large carrots, scrubbed, chopped
2 parsnips, peeled, chopped
2 cups chopped cauliflower pieces
5-6 plum tomatoes, halved, seeded
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 teaspoons dried thyme
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
1 quart of organic vegetable broth
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup plain hemp or coconut milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine the onion, garlic cloves, gold and sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, cauliflower and tomatoes in a roasting pan and toss with the olive oil, fennel and thyme. Season with sea salt and fresh pepper, to taste.

Add about a cup of the broth and a half cup of wine to the pan and roast the vegetables for about 45 to 50 minutes, until they are tender. Stir at least once during roasting.

When the veggies are roasted, pour the rest of the broth into a soup pot and bring to a high simmer.

Add the roasted vegetables (including any liquid and all the bits and pieces from the pan). Cover the soup pot and simmer gently for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Using an immersion blender puree the soup (don't have an immersion blender? Find one here).

Add the hemp or coconut milk, stir and taste for seasoning adjustments, and warm through gently. Add more liquid if your soup is thicker than you prefer; if it is too thin, cook a little longer to reduce the liquid.

Serve with my Skillet Cornbread, or crispy Brown Rice Tortilla Chips or gluten-free Pumpkin Corn Muffins.

Serves 4 as dinner, 6 as an appetizer.

Printer-friendly recipe

For a delicious variation on my roasted vegetable chowder theme, check out:

Nicole's Roasted Autumn Vegetable Chowder at Pinch My Salt