Winter Vegetable Puree Recipes

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion. Cook, stirring, until it begins to soften, about three minutes. Add the leeks and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until tender but not browned, about five more minutes. Add the carrots, kohlrabi, turnips, potatoes and water or stock. Bring to a boil.
• Meanwhile, wrap the ginger, bay leaf, thyme, parsley and peppercorns in cheesecloth. Tie them up to make a bouquet garni, and add to the pot. Add salt to taste (about 2 teaspoons), reduce the heat, cover and simmer one hour. Remove the cheesecloth bag, and discard.
• Blend the soup until smooth with an immersion blender or in batches in a regular blender. (Do not put the top on tight; cover the top with a towel to prevent hot splashes.) Pour the soup through a strainer into a bowl; press the soup through the strainer with the back of a ladle or with a pestle. Return to the pot and heat through. Add lots of freshly ground pepper, taste and adjust salt, and serve.

Steps:

• Place the celery root, potatoes, turnips and leeks in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until all of the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.
• Drain well and pass the vegetables through a ricer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Divide among 4 plates and serve immediately.

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large skillet. Saut?egetables and pears for 20 to 25 minutes, until tender. Add a little water if necessary to prevent sticking.
• Puree mixture in a food processor. Stir in nutmeg, and season to taste.

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, heat 3 cups of chicken stock. Coarsely puree the Roasted Winter Vegetables and the chicken stock in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade (or use a handheld blender). Pour the soup back into the pot and season, to taste. Thin with more chicken stock and reheat. The soup should be thick but not like a vegetable puree, so add more chicken stock and/or water until it's the consistency you like.
• Serve with Brioche Croutons and a drizzle of good olive oil.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Cut the carrots, parsnips, sweet potato, and butternut squash in 1 to 1 1/4-inch cubes. All the vegetables will shrink while baking, so don't cut them too small.
• Place all the cut vegetables in a single layer on 2 sheet pans. Drizzle them with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss well. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until all the vegetables are tender, turning once with a metal spatula.
• Sprinkle with parsley, season to taste, and serve hot.
• Slice the bread about 3/4-inch thick. Cut off the crusts and then cut the slices in 3/4-inch dice. You should have 3 to 4 cups of croutons.
• Place the croutons on a sheet pan and toss them with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, tossing once, until they're nicely browned on all sides. Cool to room temperature before using and store in a sealed plastic bag.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Cut the carrots, parsnips, sweet potato, and butternut squash in 1 to 1 1/4-inch cubes. All the vegetables will shrink while baking, so don't cut them too small.
• Place all the cut vegetables in a single layer on 2 baking sheets. Drizzle them with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss well. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until all the vegetables are tender, turning once with a metal spatula.
• Sprinkle with parsley, season to taste, and serve hot.

Steps:

• With a mortar and pestle, grind together rosemary and kosher salt. Pour in olive oil and continue to mash until the oil starts to turn a darker green. Set aside for about an hour.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Coat a shallow roasting pan with cooking spray.
• Place the squash, rutabagas, parsnips and potatoes in a large bowl. Pour the olive oil mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into the bowl. Toss vegetables with oil to coat.
• Evenly spread vegetables on the prepared pan. Roast 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until nicely browned and cooked through. You may need to remove some of the smaller pieces from the oven before all of the vegetables are cooked to avoid burning them.
• While the vegetables are roasting, simmer chicken stock in a large pot over medium low heat. When the vegetables are done add them to the simmering chicken stock and simmer together for about 10 minutes.
• Use an immersion blender to puree the soup in the pot, or puree in batches in a blender or food processor. Add extra broth or water if the soup is too thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve in warmed bowls, garnishing each serving by drizzling a quarter teaspoon of balsamic vinegar and a quarter teaspoon of white truffle oil over the soup.

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, combine the turnips, carrots, parsnip, sweet potato, and rutabaga, add a good pinch of salt, and cover by 2 inches with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are tender, 30 to 40 minutes.
• Drain the vegetables and then return them to the saucepan to dry out over medium heat for 2 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to a food mill and puree. Add the butter and salt and pepper to taste, and reheat if necessary before serving.