Showing posts with label roasted vegetable. Show all posts
Showing posts with label roasted vegetable. Show all posts

Sunday, 29 September 2024

Roasted Vegetable Tomato Soup: A Delicious Discovery

Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of recipes involving roasted vegetables. The idea of roasting them to intensify their flavors, then blending them into a hearty soup, really caught my attention. I decided to give it a try, and the result was absolutely amazing! 

Not only was the soup delicious and wholesome, but it was also incredibly easy to make. The leftovers were perfect to store in a jar and take to work for lunch the next day, paired with a classic cheese sandwich. Talk about a satisfying meal! 

This roasted vegetable tomato soup is packed with flavor, and roasting the veggies brings out their natural sweetness, adding depth to the soup. Plus, it’s flexible—use whatever vegetables you have on hand! Here’s my take on the recipe, including a few tips to make it lunch-ready for your week ahead.



Ingredients:
5-6 ripe tomatoes, halved
2 red bell peppers, quartered and deseeded
1 large onion, peeled and cut into chunks
4 cloves of garlic, peeled
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon dried thyme or oregano
1 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional, for a bit of depth)
3 cups vegetable broth
Fresh basil for garnish (optional)
Cream or yogurt (optional for serving)
sandwich on the side

To do:
1. Set your oven to 200°C. Arrange the halved tomatoes, bell peppers, onion chunks, garlic cloves, and carrots on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, thyme, and smoked paprika. Toss to ensure everything is evenly coated.

2. Place the baking sheet in the oven and roast for 25-30 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft and caramelized on the edges.

3. Once roasted, transfer the vegetables to a blender or food processor. Add 1 cup of vegetable broth and blend until smooth. Depending on the size of your blender, you may need to do this in batches.

4. Pour the blended vegetables into a large pot. Add the remaining vegetable broth and bring the soup to a gentle simmer. Let it cook for 10-15 minutes to allow the flavors to meld together. Taste the soup and adjust the salt, pepper, or spices as needed. If you prefer a creamier texture, you can stir in a splash of cream or a dollop of yogurt at this stage.

5. Serve the soup hot, garnished with fresh basil leaves or an extra drizzle of olive oil. Pair it with a crusty cheese sandwich for the perfect comfort meal!

Lunch Prep Tip:
This soup stores beautifully! Just pour the leftovers into a mason jar or any airtight container, and pop it in the fridge. In the morning, grab the jar and a cheese sandwich for a satisfying, homemade lunch at work. It heats up quickly in the microwave, and the roasted flavors get even better after sitting overnight.

Easy Cheese Sandwich Idea:
To keep things simple, I like to make a classic grilled cheese sandwich with sharp cheddar or gouda. You can toast it in a pan or oven for a crispy golden crust and a gooey center. The combination of warm, cheesy goodness and the rich, roasted soup is a match made in lunch heaven.

As for my lunch pairing, instead of the classic grilled cheese sandwich, I went with something that I always have on hand at work: knäckebröd with butter and cheese. If you’re not familiar with knäckebröd, it’s a type of Scandinavian crispbread—light, crunchy, and super versatile. It’s a pantry staple for me, perfect for quick lunches or snacks at the office. I usually top it with a smear of butter and a few slices of cheese (my go-to is gouda or sharp cheddar), which makes it a simple yet satisfying addition to my meal.

This combo with the roasted vegetable tomato soup was just right. The buttery crunch of the knäckebröd paired with the creamy, savory soup was a perfect lunch. Plus, it’s a lighter option than a traditional grilled cheese, but still packs a great contrast in textures and flavors.


 Enjoy!

Saturday, 24 October 2015

Roasted jerk chicken and vegetables - recipe

Chicken and potato. What a lovely and versatile combo. Probably two ingredients that I use the most in the kitchen. I wanted to give this recipe a twist so I used the Flava It Jamaican jerk spice mix. Great taste but somewhat spicy for my taste buds.


Ingredients:
Chicken pieces
3 big potatoes, thick slices
1 bell pepper, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced
3 carrots, sliced lengthwise
1/3 Jamaican jerk spice mix

Method:
1. Wash and slice the vegetables and place them in a enamel lidded roasting tin. This tin will be one of your best buys as it roasts to perfection, so invest in one. Found in Robert Dyas.

2. Wash the chicken pieces, could be breast, wings or drumsticks, maybe a mixture of all three. Place them on top of the vegetables in the roasting tin and add an even coat of the jerk mix on the ingredients. Make sure the chicken has an even coat.


3. Roast in the oven for about 1,5 hours or until brown and has that lovely colour, at 235 degrees.
Serve as is or with rice.



Enjoy!

Thursday, 4 July 2013

Ovengrilled Chicken with Potatoes and Carrots - Recipe

Today's dinner was very tasty. I made a simple meal out of some veggies and few chicken pieces. Since I am trying to make healthy meals, I did not cook rice, couscous or bulgur as well, which I usually do with chicken. Served it with a lovely salad instead. I seasoned the salad with few drops of pomegranate molasses, sumac as well as a lovely balsamic vinegar. The pomegranate molasses is a new favorite of mine, which I love to use when I grill chicken. I just rub the chicken in this lovely syrup and it gives it such a lovely taste and crust. It is often used in salads as well, for instance in the famous Fattoush salad. The tangy flavor really adds a new dimension and incredible flavors just by using a few drops of the molasses. I definitely recommend it as a marinade for whatever you like to put on the grill.

Serves: 3

Ingredients:
3 chicken thighs and 1 chicken breast, cut in smaller pieces
4-5 potatoes, cut in wedges
2 big carrots, sliced
1/2 parsnip, sliced
few drops of pomegranate molasses
bbq spice mix

Method:
1- Wash the chicken pieces and put them in a bowl. Add a few drops of the pomegranate molasses and the bbq spice mix and rub it all over the chicken pieces.

2- Peel and cut the parsnip, potato and carrots. Sprinkle over some of the bbq spice mix and mix them so that everything is evenly coated.





3- Place the veggies in an oven tray and place a grill rack on top. Put the chicken pieces on the grill right on top of the veggies. This way the veggies will get evenly coated in the delicious chicken juice while cooking in the oven. The oven should be on 200 C for about 1- 1.5 hours. Take it out once the chicken is cooked through and veggies are soft inside but crispy outside.



Enjoy!

Friday, 5 April 2013

Roasted Chicken and Butternut Squash - Recipe

Roasted Butternut Squash
The butternut squash is a very versatile vegetable that can be used in numerous ways such as in a creamy soup or in a nice steamy Moroccan tagine or simply roasted in the oven and served as a side dish for the Sunday roast.

I was, however, a late starter with this vegetable and did not use it in my recipes until a few years ago. It was not a vegetable that my family used to use in our cooking and whenever I saw it in the supermarket, I would often wonder how the taste and texture would be, since I pictured it to be very similar to a pumpkin. Once I started to cook butternut squash and introduced it to my daily cooking I was pleasantly surprised how rich and tasty the warming flavors were, especially when roasted in the oven.

Therefore, I often use it as a complementary vegetable when roasting chicken cut into pieces.This dish is healthy and can be made without the chicken as a vegetarian meal and served with rise. It is as many other of my meals simple to make and does not require a lot of preparation  To vary this dish, I use whatever vegetables that are in for the season and different spices. The following recipe is very much inspired by Moroccan food and I have used their famous spice mix, Ras el Hanout as a change to the traditionally used thyme and rosemary when roasting chicken or vegetables. I love using those herbs but thought that I wanted to give the ras el hanout a try when roasting as opposed to using it only in stews and tagines. I loved the warm and spicy flavors which give a nice, fragrant aroma in the whole house, as if you were walking in the middle of a spice market..

Homemade olive oil with chillies
Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:
1 small chicken, cut into pieces
1/2 butternut squash
3 potatoes
2 carrots
2 onions
1 paprika
1 squash
chilli olive oil

Spices: salt and pepper, 1 tsp garlic powder, 2 tsp Ras el Hanout mix


Method:

1- Wash the chicken pieces and make sure they are coated with salt and pepper. Place them in a roasting tin.



2- Wash and peel all the vegetables and cute down to bite size. Salt and pepper the vegetables and place them on top of the chicken pieces in the roasting thin and spread them evenly.



3- Drizzle chilli olive oil over the chicken and vegetables and make sure they are well coated and finish off by sprinkling garlic powder and ras el hanout mix on top. Roast in the oven for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven, 200 C. If you like more broth add half a glass of water. Serve with Basmati Rise.




Enjoy!

Wednesday, 19 September 2012

Roasted vegetables and chicken - Recipe

One of my all time favorite dishes is the roasted vegetables with chicken. It is very easy to make and a perfect healthy meal which can be served as it is or with fish, chicken or meat, or as I love to serve; with couscous and a nice fresh yogurt dip with herbs, yum!

Sometimes, I get tired of rise, pasta, bread and "heavy" foods. So, I like to make roasted veggies as it fills me, but doesn't give me that stuffed and bloated feeling afterwards. This time, I made extra so I could take some for our lunch the day after. 


Serves 3-4

Ingredients:
9 potatoes, diced
1/2 big leak, sliced
1 fennel, sliced
3 carrots, sliced
3 chicken breast, diced
olive oil

Spices: roasted paprika, mix of peppers, salt, cumin, herbes de provence, dried parsley, mild curry.




Process:
1- Put the oven on 200°C/400°F/gas 6.



2- Slice up all the veggies and put them in an oven tray, pour olive oil and spices over it and mix everything so everything gets coated in the olive oil and the spices. Put tray in the oven and let the veggies roast for about 1 hour or til they've got a nice golden color and are cooked well.


Usually, I love having courgette, aubergine, garlic, butternut squash etc in the veggie mix, but I just had these at home and used them. Jamie Oliver has a great recipe on roasted veggies which I simply love.

3- Cut the chicken breasts in 2 pieces, and coat them with the olive oil and the spices as well.

I prepared everything in 2 oven trays. One for only the veggies and one for the chicken mixed with the veggies. I put them both in the oven for about 50-60 minutes until the veggies and the chicken were cooked well.

Very useful if you invite vegetarian friends for diner or you're on a healthy diet.

Enjoy !


Top tray with just veggies and bottom tray with veggies and the chicken.