2 savoury soups for a cold winter day

When the weather gets cold, it's time to stock your pantry with ingredients for a hearty soup. These two recipes are the perfect meal in a bowl because they're flavourful, filling and extremely satisfying.

Roasting vegetables caramelizes their sugars and brings out their sweetness. It's a fantastic technique for intensifying the flavour of a sauce or soup. It also helps to use carrot juice in place of plain old broth as the soup base.

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 15 ml (1 tbsp.) olive oil
• 5 garlic cloves
• 350 g (12 oz.) all-purpose potatoes, cut into 1-cm-square (1/2-in.) chunks
• 1 green pepper, seeded and cut into 1 cm (1/2-in.) squares
• 1 yellow pepper, seeded and cut into 1 cm (1/2-in.) squares
• 5 g (1 tsp.) fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 yellow squash, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1-cm-square (1/2-in.) pieces
• 1 large red onion, cut into 1-cm-square (1/2-in.) chunks
• 350 ml (1 1/2 cups) carrot juice
• 350 g (12 oz.) plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 5 g (1 tsp.) fresh tarragon
• 3 g (3/4 tsp.) salt
• 175 ml (3/4 cup) water

Preparation instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 230 °C (450 °F).
2. In a roasting pan, combine the oil and garlic; roast until the oil begins to sizzle, about five minutes.
3. Add the potatoes, green peppers, yellow peppers and rosemary; toss to coat. Roast until the potatoes begin to colour and soften, about 15 minutes.
4. Add the squash and onion; roast until the squash is tender, about 15 minutes longer.
5. In a medium Dutch oven, combine the carrot juice, tomatoes, tarragon and salt and bring it to boil over medium heat. Add the roasted vegetables.
6. Pour the water into the roasting pan and scrape up any brown bits. Pour the pan juices into the Dutch oven and cook until heated through, about two minutes.

People usually assume that using convenience ingredients means giving up quality. On the contrary, some prepared foods have more desirable qualities than fresh foods. Canned pumpkin, for instance, is made from an extra-creamy breed of pumpkin that is unavailable to consumers.

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 15 ml (1 tbsp.) vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 50 ml (1/4 cup) tomato paste
• 2 cans (each 400 g or 14 1/2 oz.) chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 g (1/2 tsp.) dried thyme
• 1 can (425 g or 15 oz.) solid-pack pumpkin purée
• 50 ml (1/4 cup) half-and-half
• 1 g (1/4 tsp.) salt
• 1 g (1/4 tsp.) ground white pepper
• Sour cream (optional garnish)
• Rosemary (optional garnish)

Preparation instructions

1. In a large pot over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the onion, carrots and celery. Sauté until softened, about five minutes.
2. Stir in the tomato paste. Cook for one minute. Add the broth, bay leaf and thyme. Simmer, uncovered, until the vegetables are very tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin. Cook for five minutes longer. Remove the bay leaf.
3. In a blender or food processor, purée the soup in batches. Pour the soup back into the pot.
4. Add the half-and-half. Bring to a simmer. Add the salt and pepper. If it's too thick, add a little water.
5. Top with the sour cream and rosemary, if using, before serving.

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