roasted vegetable soup

The joy of having a weekly CSA full of fresh produce, is that a) I am constantly given great quality ingredients to create dishes out of, and b) the vegetables are so fresh that whole filling meals can be made using nothing else.

This roasted vegetable soup, is just one of the recipes I’ve been inspired to make thursday afternoon, after digging through my gigantic box of fresh goodies. Roasting brings out the natural sweetness, and imparts a heartiness to vegetables that they would not have otherwise.

Ingredients:

10 tomatoes, quartered

3 carrots, peeled and cut in fourths

4 celery ribs, cut in forths

6 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed

1/2 onion, halved and then quartered

2 1/2 tsp trader joe’s onion salt

1 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp dried italian parsley

2 Tbsp evoo

1 cup cashews, soaked

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 3/4 cup vegetable broth (or chicken if you prefer and/or have it on hand), divided use

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Put all prepared vegetables in a bowl. Add evoo, onion salt, salt, and italian parsley. Combine until all vegetables are coated.

Spread vegetables out on a rimmed baking sheet (two if small), in upper 1/3 of the oven.

Bake for 20 minutes, then toss vegetables. Bake for an additional 20 minutes.

While vegetables are roasting, add cashews and 3/4 cups of broth to a blender, and combine until smooth (but will be rather liquidy).

Add roasted vegetables to the cashew mixture, and an additional 1 cup of broth. Blend until smooth.

If you prefer a thicker soup, use 1/2 cup less broth.