A warming winter soup

 Winter has suddenly arrived, we woke to falling snow. I love to take a snow walk around my local space  to enjoy the change the snow brings as the familiar looks different & it becomes very quiet too. 

It is soup weather - fortunately last night I did a large tray of roast vegetables - I cut a whole butternut in to slices, removed the pips from the section that had it & cut them slices in to blocks. I did not peel it because the skin is good fibre & it softens as it cooks. 

I cut up a whole white onion in to smallish bits, added it to the tray. I peeled 3 large carrots & cut these in half then in to chunks too. Drizzled it all with olive oil, sprinkled over sweet paprika (my favourite spice with oven veg), garlic & pepper. 

I covered it with foil & roasted it for about 40 min then uncovered it to caramelise the onion & veg. It was served hot alongside local sausages, mash & aubergine too. 

I knew I would have vegetables for soup  & another meal too (we love roast vegetables) so it is a good way to do it. 

This is how I turn it in to a quick & nutritious soup. 

I added 1 stock cube to boiling water in a pan, added a few heaped serving spoons of the roast veg. 

I brought it all to the boil, covered it while I made an open toasty to go with it. 

The small baguette was sliced in half, spread with tomato sauce that was seasoned with garlic & pepper, the sliced sausage arranged on top, then grated cheese to top it off & under the grill to bubble away. 

The soup was blitzed with a stick blender to a  smooth-ish consistency, a spoon of mascarpone cheese stirred through it then put in to bowls to enjoy. These soup bowls with lids keep the soup warm & they are a perfect size too. 

It was absolutely delicious & nutritious after our brisk walk in the snow. Winter is soup season, so enjoy. What is your favourite soup recipe? Please share, 

Dee