Whew. That's a long name. Basically, it's a way to preserve vegetables from the end of the harvest in the freezer now that make a wonderful soup in the winter. Since it's mostly vegetables, it's a great way to get a variety of veggies in those dark winter months.
And the flavor is soooo good: garlic, a little lemon, and the veggies. Oh yea, ever since I found the basis of this recipe years ago in the Oregonian, I make it every year.
The only thing to remember with this is to cut the vegetables up fairly small and even, so they roast evenly. This is a super easy recipe, yet it is good enough for company.
Chop up 3-4 cloves garlic (you be the judge of how garlicky you want your bisque) and toss them in a large roasting pan.
Now we are just going to be layering the vegetables in the pan. I'm starting with chopped zucchini, and if I'm using some bigger one that got away from me (hey, it happens...), I will quarter it first and cut out the squishy, seedy core.
The vegetables you can use are pretty flexible, depending on what's available from the garden, but I always use squash, peppers, carrots, and onions - and never tomatoes, because that would turn it into a tomato bisque.
I don't have anything against tomato bisque, it's just not what we're going for here.
Next is the peppers- only sweet, ripe ones, please! No bitter unripe green ones. They will take over the flavor completely.
Carrots are next, sliced small to cook with the squash and peppers.
Lastly, cut an onion in half and slice the half to get similar sized pieces and add to the pan.
Now chop whatever herbs you've got growing in the garden. I used a mixture of basil, thyme, chives and parsley.
Rosemary is good, too, but I can't get rosemary to grow in a container here for me. I'm waiting for my official herb garden to plant it in the ground.
Now grate the zest of one lemon right over the pan, then juice the lemon and add the juice to the pan.
Add three tablespoons of olive oil.
Add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt and freshly ground pepper, and mix everything together with a spoon.
Cook for 20-25 minutes at 450 degrees.
Oh, this looks good, and you could eat it now, but it would spoil the treat you'll get in the depths of winter when you make the bisque with the recipe I'm including at the end.
For now, place 3 cups in each freezer bag (you'll get 1-2 bags from each recipe), label it and put it in the freezer.
You'll be glad you did.
Lemon-Garlic Roasted Vegetables for Bisque
- 2-3 medium zucchini and/or summer squash
- 2 sweet bell peppers (orange, red, or yellow)
- 2 carrots
- 1 onion
- 3-4 cloves garlic
- 1/2 c. mixed fresh herbs (such as basil, rosemary,thyme, chives, and parsley)
- Zest and juice of one lemon
- 3 tbl. olive oil
- 1/4-1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4-1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Chop all the vegetables to similar sizes and place in a large roasting pan.
- Add the herbs, lemon zest and juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and stir to mix.
- Roast for 20-25 minutes or until vegetables are lightly brown and very tender.
- Let cool and then pack into freezer bags in 3-cup portions, label and freeze.
Makes 4-5 cups.
Lemon-Garlic Roasted Vegetable Bisque
- 3 c. Lemon-Garlic Roasted Vegetables
- 4 c. vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 c. peeled and diced potato
- 1-1/2 c. milk or half-and-half
- salt and pepper to taste
- Combine the vegetables, broth and potato in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until the potato is very tender (about 15 minutes).
- Use an immersion blender to puree right in pot, or let cool slightly and puree in batches in a blender. With puree in pot, stir in enough milk to reach desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Makes 4-6 servings
-Jami
3 comments: