Winter in a bowl

The other day I was craving some stick to your ribs soup. But being the holidays and with my increased consumption of sugar and crap in general, I wanted to keep it healthy. Here's what I came up with. It's delicious. Sorry there are no pics with this one. I sort of threw it together and didn't photograph anything because I didn't expect it to be blog-worthy. Boy was I wrong.

Notes:

As far as the fresh herbs I used, I love buying the Poultry pack from herb section of the grocery store. You get a few of just enough without having to buy whole, individual packets.

If you don't have an immersion blender, you can definitely use a regular one, but be sure blend the hot soup in batches. DO NOT fill the blender past half way. Hot liquid expands and you risk burning yourself. Return the blended soup to the pan when the soup is smooth.

Roasted Root Vegetable Soup

3 carrots, cut into 2" chunks
2 medium rutabaga, peeled and cut into 2" chunks
2 medium turnips, peeled and cut into 2" chunks
4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme
3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
Half of a medium yellow onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
1/2 cup brandy, cognac, or sherry
6 cups vegetable stock
1 Tbs minced fresh sage
1 Tbs minced fresh rosemary

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the carrots, rutabega, turnips, thyme, and 2 Tbs of olive oil on a large sheet pan. Toss with salt and pepper and roast for 45 minutes to an hour, until soft and lightly browned. Toss a couple times throughout the roasting process so they brown evenly. Remove from the oven and set aside.

In a medium sized pot, heat 1 Tbs olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, celery and garlic and saute until onions are translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Add the cognac (carefully if you're using a gas range) and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook about 30 seconds. Add the roasted root vegetables and 4 cups vegetable stock. Bring to a boil and add sage and rosemary and turn off the heat.

Using an immersion blender (See note above), puree the soup until everything is very smooth. At this point, the texture of the soup is up to you. I added the additional 2 cups of stock because I wanted it a bit thinner and bisque-like, but it's entirely your own preference. Season the soup well with salt and pepper and reheat if necessary.

I ate it with some toasted grainy bread and a drizzle of good olive oil.

Mmmmmmmm