Winter vegetable soup

By junodemelo

The holidays are gone, and the relatives have left. You can also say farewell to the season's fatty foods with this veggie-loaded soup created by Lulu Powers, Madonna's caterer. One bowl dishes more than all of your RDA for vitamin A and 20 percent for potassium. Bonus: Eating soup before a meal means you'll consume fewer total calories.

Ingredients

• 3 * 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 * 1 cup coarsely chopped onion
• 1 * 1 cup peeled, cored and coarsely chopped Granny Smith apple
• 1 * 1 cup peeled and coarsely chopped turnip
• 1 * 1 cup peeled and chopped butternut squash (seeds discarded)
• 1 * 1 cup coarsely chopped carrot
• 1 * 1 cup peeled, chopped sweet potato
• 5 * 5 cups vegetable (or chicken) stock
• 1/4 * 1/4 cup maple syrup
• * Cayenne pepper
• 1 * 1 small whole-grain baguette
• 3 * 3 oz goat cheese
• 1/4 * 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

Preparation

Step 1

For soup, heat oil in a large saucepan on medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent. Add apple, turnip, squash, carrot, and sweet potato; season with salt, then sauté 5 minutes. Add stock, bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add syrup, then cayenne pepper to taste. Cool slightly. Puree with a handheld mixer, food processor or blender. For toast toppers, cut 6 slices bread and toast them. Spread 1/2 oz goat cheese on top of each; sprinkle with chives. Pour soup into 6 large bowls; float toast on top.