Moroccan Vegetable Soup

With all the wonderful root vegetables that are available at this time of year, and in our Winter/Spring CSA box from "Cooper's CSA Farm & Maze", I have been on a crazy soup kick!!!!  Obviously I am a BIG fan of soups (hence the name of this blog!) and the main reason is that it is an easy and delicious way to include all sorts of vegetables into your diet in one sitting!  This recipe is no exception ~ give it a try!!

MOROCCAN VEGETABLE SOUP

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive or sunflower oil

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped parsnips

1 1/2 cups peeled, seeded & chopped pumpkin* 

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

Lemon juice, to taste

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Garnish:

3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley and cilantro, mixed

A generous pinch of paprika

• Heat the oil and butter in a Dutch oven (or a large pot) and saute the onions for 3 minutes, or until softened but not coloured.  Add the garlic, carrots and parsnips, cover and cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring occasionally so the garlic doesn't stick to the bottom and burn.
• Stir in the pumpkin and saute for a further 5 minutes. Add the stock, bring to a boil, and cover and simmer for 35 to 40 minutes.
• Allow the soup to cool slightly, then pour into a food processor or blender (or use an immersion blender) and puree until smooth, adding a little extra water if it becomes too thick.
• Pour back into the clean pot and reheat gently without boiling.  Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper and taste.
• In a small skillet, heat 1 1/2 tsp olive oil and saute the herbs and paprika until just wilted.
• Pour the soup into bowls and swirl the garnish into the soup ~ ENJOY!

*If you don't have a small pumpkin, you can substitute hubbard , butternut, or acorn squash!