Easy Roasted Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 lb (450g) Butternut squash ((about 2.5 cups))
• 1 leek
• 1 red onion
• 1 small/medium eggplant (aubergine)
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 4 1/4 cups (1 litre) vegetable stock
• 3-4 sprigs thyme leaves (plus extra for garnish)
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• Pecorino Toscano cheese (for serving (optional))
• Salt and pepper

Steps

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 180°C(350°F) fan 200℃(400℉) static.

2. 2

   Using a knife, remove most of the eggplant skin (it doesn’t need to be perfect). Roughly chop the squash, eggplant, red pepper and red onion into medium-sized pieces and add to a baking tray. Add the thyme leaves and garlic and season well with salt and pepper. Drizzle with around 4 tablespoons of olive oil, and rub the oil all over the veg.

3. 3

   Roast the vegetables in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour until slightly golden and cooked through.

4. 4

   Wash and finely slice the leek. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large pot under a low/medium heat and sauté the leek until soft but not browned.

5. 5

   Remove the garlic from the tray and let them cool. Add the cooked roasted vegetables to the pot, then when cool enough to touch, squeeze the roasted garlic from their skins into the pot.

6. 6

   Add the vegetable stock, and simmer the soup for 15 minutes. Blitz the soup until smooth with an immersion or regular blender (be careful when blitzing hot soup).

7. 7

   Check for seasoning and add more salt and pepper as needed, then serve in bowls topped with grated pecorino cheese and more thyme for garnish.