2 Superb Soups for Fall!

Making fall time veggie soups is ridiculously easy and therapeutic.  I like to buy root veggies, and try out different combinations of them while still applying the same basic soup formula with some additions here and there.  Here are 2 that I've made recently, both had some similarities in flavor, with subtle differences.  Also I will note some different ingredients that made them each special. The best part is you don't need a recipe, just add what you like! It all gets pureed anyway, and so that you don't feel like you're serving up baby food, just make sure you have an elegant garnish to add some sophistication!

Here's what was similar:

1. They both have white wine.
2. They both have thyme, black pepper, and nutmeg.
3. They both received some dairy at the finish (one got heavy cream, the other got some parmesan and a dollop of sour cream).
4. They both contain a half sweet potato, and about 3-4 regular potatoes.
5. They both contain 1 apple.
6. The both got pureed.

Soup #1: Roasted Turnip and Potato Soup with Mushroom and Red Pepper Garnish.

I roasted chunks of turnip, potato and an apple in the over with olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme.  In a soup pot I sauteed some onions in butter and oil, added some white wine. Once reduced a little, add in the roasted veggies, some stock or water, and cook until everything is soft.  For this one I used a stick blender to puree the soup, and added about 1/4 cup of heavy cream and a pinch of nutmeg at the end.

I topped this one with some sauteed oyster mushrooms and red peppers, as well as a few roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas).  The mushrooms were "flash sauteed" in a super hot pan with some butter and oil for only about 2 minutes. They were a fun luxury purchase at the farmer's market, so I made sure I asked the crazy shroom lady how to cook them properly.

Soup #2: Cabbage, Leek and Potato Soup with Chives and Sour Cream.

For this one, nothing got roasted. Everything in the pot. I sauteed a small head of cabbage (diced), 3 leeks, and 2 cloves of garlic in some oil and butter until everything was soft. I lslo added plenty of thyme, black pepper, and some nutmeg. I added half a sweet potato, 3 regular potatoes, and an apple (all diced small) to the mixture, with a healthy sized glug of white wine. Let that cook, and then add some chicken stock.  After 20 minutes I pureed the soup in batched in the regular blender.  Once that was done I added a BIG handful of chopped chives, a few tablespoons of parmesan cheese, and each bowl got a cannel of sour cream to stir in while eating.

(iPhone apps make my food photos SUPER AWESOME!)