Harvest Bisque
Harvest Bisque is a beautiful medley of root vegetables and hard squash. It freezes well and makes a great opening course for Thanksgiving dinner.
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5 large parsnips
5 carrots
1 large sweet potato
3 lbs mixed hard squash (such as acorn, butternut, delicata, red puri, buttercup, kabocha, etc.)
1 c. whole garlic cloves
3 qts vegetable or chicken broth
2 T. olive oil, plus more for coating vegetables
2 T. white wine vinegar
2 T. granulated onion
2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground white pepper
1 T. thyme
1 T. ground sage
1 t. ground rosemary
Salt and ground white pepper to taste
Roughly chop parsnips, carrots, and sweet potatoes into large pieces. Place in a large bowl with about a teaspoon of olive oil. Using your hands, move the pieces around the bowl until lightly coated in oil. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes. All pieces should be fork tender.
Repeat this procedure with the squash. Place on its own baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Add garlic cloves to the squash and replace in oven, baking another 15 minutes. Both squash and garlic should be fork tender.
Heat olive oil in a heavy bottomed, large stock pot. Add spices, salt, and pepper. Cook for a couple of minutes on low heat, stirring, constantly. Add white wine vinegar. Stir until combined.
Add both trays of vegetables and garlic, along with broth. Stir together. Turn up heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat to low, simmering slowly for 45-60 minutes, until vegetables are disintegrating into the broth.
Using a good blender or food processor, process the soup in batches, processing until creamy. The texture should be uniform, with no lumps.
Makes 16 cups.