Red Vegetable Soup

Waiting to share this recipe with you has been agonizing! The original post was actually created on April 8th! I did not have lots of time over the school year, and so I am finally posting up this wonderful dish. This recipe is probably one of the simplest dishes I have ever made, and yet it is extremely flavorful. It stands as one of my most favorite meals I have ever had. I love this soup! I know you will too.

I created the recipe when on vacation in La Jolla over spring break. It was an instant hit in our family. I vowed to make it went I returned home, I did, and it was just as tasty as before! I made up a ginormous batch last week and had it with extra pulled roast chicken for dinner each night before my early morning bakery shifts. It was nice and easy on the tummy, satisfying and so delicious. [Notice the yummy crispy roasted chicken skin in the picture.]

Roasted Chicken and Roasted Red Vegetable Soup

3 large sweet potatoes, washed and quartered

2 large red peppers, washed, seeded and halved

3/4 large vidalia onion, peeled and quartered

1 bag of organic carrots, cut off ends and washed

1 small fresh chicken

4 cups chicken stock

olive oil as needed

real butter as needed

salt

pepper

To make your soup:

1. Open chicken from bag, rinse well with warm water. Take out the giblets/organs and set aside.

2. In a large roasting pan (for oven), place chicken in the center and cut up veggies around the chicken on the sides.

3. Sprinkle the chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Pour olive oil over the top and rub into the chicken, top and bottom.

4. Arrange the red peppers so that they have the skins down and the insides facing up, making a cup shape. Place the rinsed giblets inside.

5. Drizzle veggies with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

6. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes, then add about a cup or more of chicken stock and cover, roasting until vegetable are tender and chicken juices run clear.

7. Remove pan from the oven, let the chicken rest in a separate dish lightly covered with foil for about 10 minutes as you prepare the soup.

8. On the stove top, bring remaining chicken stock up to a simmer on medium heat. Take the cooked vegetables and place into a food processor, blender or Vitamix and process in batches until totally pureed. [You can also place all the cooked vegetables right into the pot with the stock and use a hand blender, I think this method works best.] Add 2-4 Tbsp of butter, and salt and pepper to taste to the soup and simmer until ready to serve.

9. Uncover the chicken and break it down, separating the wings, thighs and cutting off the breast meat. Save the bones for making stock later and remove as much of the meat and fat from the bones as possible. Be frugal!

10. Serve the soup in bowls, with chicken on the side. Or if you prefer, you can shred the chicken further and stir it into the soup.

This picture is from our stay in La Jolla. I served the soup and chicken with roasted spaghetti squash and some local gluten free cornbread. I was more than satisfied, however, with just soup and chicken.

Be sure to serve this soup with lots of real butter, because the good fats in the butter help you absorb all of the nutrients from the vegetables, like fat soluble vitamin A.

One final note: This is a thick, pureed soup. For a thinner consistency, add more chicken stock, water or raw cream.

-Update 2/23/10-

Here are the most recent photos of the version I made when I was at home.