Roasted Zucchini Potato Soup

What is it about this time of year that makes me want to roast everything? I’ve been pondering trying to make a roasted vegetable soup, so I set to work with some of the things hanging out in my vegetable drawer. I totally improvised and ended up with something really weird at first, but after tossing in a little bit of this and that, I eventually ended up with a very happy-making, comfortable soup. Here’s the recipe as of last night, though I think I’ll definitely play with flavors the next time around.

Roasted Zucchini Potato Soup
• 1 large zucchini, cut into big chunks
• 2 Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 large onion, cut into large wedges
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt
• 4 cups stock
• 1 large clove of garlic, crushed
• freshly-ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 porcini bullion cube
• sour cream (optional)

Toss the vegetables in the olive oil and spread everything on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle a little salt on everything, then put it in the oven at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for about 45 minutes (stirring and scraping from time to time and setting aside anything that might burn), until the potatoes and onion are nicely browned.

Put the vegetables into a soup pot. Deglaze the cookie sheet with about ½ cup of the stock, then add that liquid to the veggies, along with the rest of the stock. Add garlic and pepper, then simmer everything for about 20 minutes. Purée until smooth, and add a little water if it’s too thick. Add the bullion cube, herbs, cayenne, and a little salt to taste.

It’s wonderful on it’s own, but I swirled in a little dollop of sour cream, which added a nice little zing.