With the arrival of zucchini, summer is officially here.
A soup in the summer may seem like a strange way to go, but if you find yourself overloaded with vegetables in these coming months, I recommend you give this recipe a try. I feel confident saying this because when I had the audacity to post this soup in August of last year, it became the most frequently viewed recipe on the blog. So there. You’re just begging for soup in summer.
Tomatoes, bell peppers, summer squash, zucchini, garlic scapes, eggplants, and onions. It’s not that you have to arrange them to form a rainbow, but if you do, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll find the same level of satisfaction that other people derive from their football team winning (sports!).
This soup is forgiving and if you have an extra tomato to toss in or perhaps are lacking a bell pepper, you can rest assured that the result will still be delicious. Garlic scapes or garlic cloves, it doesn’t matter.
What’s important is that the vegetables are in the oven long enough to roast, to bring out their robust flavor, and to give their skins (specifically the eggplant and bell peppers) a slight char.
Once roasted, the vegetables are given a couple pulses in a food processor, enough to break them down but still large enough to keep some texture for your soup, and then some broth is added. I’m going to tell you to now bring the soup to a slow simmer, and I already know you’re looking at me from under raised brows because it’s summer and you’re sweating, and you’d like to get on to the eating part.
It’s coming soon, I promise. You’ll need 15 minutes on the stove and then the soup is ready.
The best part—this soup is just as good if not better the next day, so pulling together a big batch of it helps you work through your vegetables and have lunch ready for the next day. Now are you with me?
- 1 pound beefsteak tomatoes, halved and cored
- 3 yellow, orange, or red bell peppers, or any combination of the three, halved and cored
- 2 zucchini or summer squash, halved
- 1 small eggplant, halved
- 3 garlic scapes or garlic cloves
- 2 onions, peeled and halved
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- ½ cup coconut milk (optional)
- Basil leaves as garnish
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Arrange tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchini, summer squash, eggplant, garlic, and onions on a baking sheet, cut side down, in a single layer. Drizzle generously with olive oil and salt. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until eggplant and bell peppers have a slight char on their skins. Check at 25 minutes, as garlic (cloves or scapes) may need to come out earlier so they don't burn.
- Working in batches, pulse vegetables in a food processor until they break down but there are still large chunks (do not puree). Transfer vegetables to a large pot and add vegetable broth and thyme. Cook for 15 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
- If you'd like to add a little creaminess to the soup, you can add coconut milk, but I think the soup is delicious with out it as well. If you do add coconut milk, cook for 2-3 minutes more. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve with basil leaves as garnish.
[…] much more zucchinis, summer squash and patty pan squash. Hear me out and make roasted summer vegetable soup (it’s not that warm out). Or if that doesn’t sound appealing, you can make a cold […]
writes Farmer's Market & CSA Series {Week 9} - Things I Made Today[…] Roasted Summer Vegetables Soup […]
writes Farmer's Market & CSA Series {Week 14} - Things I Made Today[…] Roasted Summer Vegetable Soup (while you still can!) […]
writes Farmer's Market & CSA Series {Week 17} - Things I Made Today3unnecessarily
writes 1editorials