Vegetable Purée Soup is popular in many parts of the world. The Moroccan version uses some of the vegetables traditionally prepared with couscous such as carrots, cabbage, pumpkin and turnips.
The ingredients listed below will yield approximately 4 to 4 1/2 quarts of chopped vegetables. My kids and I like the soup best with lots of carrots for flavor and color, but you can omit or replace any of the vegetables to suit your family's preferences.
Serves 8 as a light supper.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 12 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
- 4 small turnips, peeled and chopped
- 3 small potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 3 small zucchini, peeled and sliced
- small bowl of peas or green beans
- small wedge of pumpkin, flesh only
- small wedge of cabbage, chopped
- 2 stalks of celery, coarsely chopped
- handful of chopped fresh parsley
- 3 quarts (about 3 liters) of vegetable or chicken stock
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon vinegar (optional)
Preparation:
In a large stock pot over medium heat, sauté the onion in the butter for a few minutes. Add the flour, and cook the mixture for two or three minutes.
Add the vegetables in the quantities above, or add 4 to 4 1/2 quarts (about 4 liters) of chopped vegetables of your choice.
Add the stock, parsley, pepper and vinegar. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, and simmer the soup, partially covered, for 30 minutes.
Allow the soup to cool for 20 minutes. In batches, purée the vegetables with the broth in a blender. If you find the soup is thinner than you like, reduce the amount of broth that is puréed with the vegetables. If the soup is thicker than you like, stir in a small amount of water after you have puréed all the vegetables with the broth.
Add salt and additional pepper to taste, and serve.
The soup will keep for several days in the refrigerator, or can be frozen for up to a month.
