The ultimate comfort food. This soup is an especially nutritious soup that is flexible and nourishing. The weather cools off and the vegetables are still in the market. It is a good time of year to take advantage of rooted vegetables.  I’m talking about onions, garlic, beets, carrots, leeks, squash, and even pumpkin! The more variety, the more flavor and color.  In this picture I left some vegetables chunky, but my preference is to blend the roasted veggies into a puree, then add the broth or tomato juice. Begin with a large roasting pan.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Ingredients

1 bulb of garlic, remove cloves and skin

2 cups carrots

4 beets, red or yellow or combination

2 large onions, sweet white or red

1 large scallion, minced

1 large zucchini

3 leeks, include the white and light green part

3 stalks celery

3 cups red potatoes

1 large parsnip

2 cups squash, pumpkin, butternut, or acorn

5-6 large tomatoes, or 12-13 grape tomatoes

1/4 cup fresh herbs, preferably a combination of rosemary, basil, and thyme

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

1/2 extra virgin olive oil

3 cups vegetable broth

3 cups tomato juice

Cut all of the vegetables into bite-sized pieces, about 1/2-inch in size.  Spread vegetables in the roaster and place in the preheated oven.  After roasting 30 minutes drizzle the olive oil over the vegetables and turn with a spatula to coat well.  Roast for 30 more minutes until the vegetables are lightly brown and tender.  Stir once or twice while the vegetables are roasting in the oven.  Remove the vegetables from the oven and allow to slightly cool.  Place about four cups of the roasted vegetables and one cup of the vegetable broth in the food processor or blender and process until smooth.  Transfer to a large sauce pan and add additional broth and tomato juice (like in the picture above).  Salt and pepper to taste. If you prefer a pure vegetable broth soup, add additional broth and eliminate the tomato juice. You could also just add tomato juice if you want more of a tomato vegetable soup. Add salt and pepper to taste. Heat over medium high heat until warm, about 10 minutes.  Garnish with herbs, a drizzle of olive oil, and sliced avocado.