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Soul Satisfying Autumn Soups

Autumn Harvest Soup

This comforting soup is perfect for a chilly fall day. The sweetness of the carrots and apple nicely balance the rich, earthy flavor of the beets. Roasting the vegetables first caramelizes them, bringing out their complex flavors. Curry and smoked paprika gives the soup a little kick. I also added miso for umami undertones and a dollop of Beaujolais wine for color and depth, but you can leave them out if you’d like. Feel free to try different root vegetables and adjust the seasonings to your taste. This is a healthy, nourishing soup.

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil

  • 1 cup red onion, peeled and chopped 

  • 2 cups beets, peeled and chopped 

  • 3 cups butternut squash, peeled and chopped 

  • 3 carrots, peeled and chopped 

  • 1 apple, peeled and chopped 

  • 1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated

  • 3 cloves minced garlic

  • 4 cups vegetable broth

  • 1 tbsp white miso paste

  • 1 tbsp curry powder

  • 1 tsp smoked paprika

  • 1 tsp seasoned salt

  • 1/3 cup light red wine (such as Beaujolais) 


Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 425F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. 
  2. While oven is preheating, chop vegetables into small, uniform pieces. Toss with olive oil and spread out on baking sheets. Sprinkle with salt and cook for 30 minutes.

  3. When done, remove from oven and add to a crock pot along with remaining ingredients.  

  4. Cook in crock pot on high for four hours or low for 6-8. Then puree using a stick (immersion) blender or cool slightly and transfer to a food processor or blender in small batches.

  5. Once pureed, keep in crock pot on warm setting until ready to serve. Garnish as desired – shredded parmesan cheese, nuts or pumpkin seeds would be nice. 

  6. Yield: 4 servings

Potage à la Reine

Potage à la Reine (the Queen’s Soup) is a creamy soup made with chicken and almonds that dates back to the Renaissance. The almonds give the soup its characteristic whitish color - the use of dairy products or rice to provide a creamy look and feel were added later. In addition to adding depth, texture and flavor, the light color was also a status symbol. 

The original version is complex and rather complicated, including making an almond broth from scratch using ground almonds. My updated version comes together much more quickly with almond milk. It also substitutes turkey for chicken, providing a solution for all that extra Thanksgiving turkey. I recommended making a flavorful stock from the turkey bones, but feel free to use a pre-made chicken stock.   

  • 1⁄4 cup butter 

  • 1 cup julienned carrot

  • 1 cup julienned celery

  • 1 cup julienned leek 

  • 1 tsp dried tarragon 

  • 1 tsp dried thyme 

  • 1 tsp garlic powder

  • 2 tsp seasoning salt 

  • 1 tsp ground white pepper

  • 1⁄3 cup flour 

  • 6 cups turkey or chicken stock 

  • 1 cup cooked rice 

  • 2 cups diced cooked turkey

  • 2 cups unsweetened almond milk  

  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Directions

  1. Heat butter in large stockpot and cook vegetables, herbs and salt and pepper over low heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are translucent.

  2. Add flour and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Do not brown.

  3. Gradually stir in stock.

  4. Bring to a boil, cover and cook over low heat for 5 minutes.

  5. Add rice and turkey and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

  6. Stir in almond milk and continue cooking over low heat until warmed through.

  7. Right before serving, stir in lemon juice.

  8. Season with additional salt and pepper and garnish with pomegranate arils if desired. 

  9. Yield: 6-8 servings

*Feel free to try the longer version!

Author Bio:

Food writer, librarian and research historian Becky Libourel Diamond is the author of  The Thousand Dollar Dinner and Mrs. Goodfellow: The Story of America’s First Cooking School. Her current projects include a book about the history of processed food, and a Delmonico’s-themed entertainment cookbook with fellow epicurean Max Tucci. She lives in Yardley, PA

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