So, if you’re into sheet pan cooking … wait, what? What’s sheet pan cooking, you ask? Just what it sounds like: arrange a bunch of ingredients (chicken thighs, say, or Italian sausages, and/or vegetables) on a rimmed sheet pan, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, pop into the oven and … dinner’s done. Even better: Line the pan with aluminum foil, and clean-up is done, too. Brilliant.
For the uninitiated, a couple of best sheet pan supper recipes that I love:
- Roast Chicken and Potatoes with Arugula and Garlicky Yogurt
- Sheet Pan Roasted Broccoli Pasta
- Chicken Sausage and Potatoes
OK, so, where were we? Oh, yeah. Sheet Pan Roasted Vegetable Soup. Right on. Here’s the thing … this is kind of a non-recipe recipe, if you know what I mean. The technique’s simple: Roast up a pan full of vegetables (more on that in a minute), simmer them in vegetable stock to soften them, then harness the magic of the immersion blender to create a beautiful puree. Simple.
Vegetables to roast for this lovely (and — hooray! — low-fat and low-calorie) soup recipe. Use at least two of these, ideally more.
- Carrots
- Plum tomatoes (seeds removed)
- Onion
- Parsnips
- Winter squash
- Red pepper
- Fennel bulb
- Garlic cloves
This soup makes a perfectly satisfying lunch, or delicious dinner with a grilled cheese sandwich. Top it with a dollop of Greek plain yogurt or sour cream, a spoonful of pesto, any kind of grated cheese, toasty croutons or breadcrumbs, or fresh herbs. Yay, soup!
Sheet pan roasted vegetable soup recipe
serves 4
3 pounds vegetables (see list above)
4 peeled whole garlic cloves
3 sprigs fresh thyme (or 2 tsp. dried thyme)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
4 cups vegetable broth
1 piece of Parmesan rind (if you have one in the freezer)
For serving: Soup crackers, sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, snipped fresh herbs, croutons
Preheat oven to 400°; line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Chop the vegetables into evenly sized 1-inch pieces. Place them on the baking sheet and toss with garlic, thyme (sprigs or dried), olive oil, and salt and pepper. Roast until vegetables are browned in spots and crisp-tender, about 40 minutes. Transfer vegetables to a stock pot (remove thyme sprigs) and add vegetable broth and Parmesan rind. Simmer soup until vegetables are totally tender, 20–30 minutes. Remove Parmesan rind. Let soup cool, then use an immersion blender to puree to your desired consistency. Reheat to a simmer and serve.
Pingback: Savory granola topping. | writes4food