Roasted root vegetable soup with dukkah

Great soup shines thanks to tasty garnish!

The earthy flavours of root vegetables make them a natural choice for soup.  Roasting them brings out their natural sweetness and gives the soup a richer, more complex flavour. Be sure to take a few moments to make the garnish – dukkah is an Egyptian-inspired, finely-ground blend of nuts, seeds and spices that adds both texture and a subtle, intriguing taste to the soup. This vegan-friendly recipe makes quite a large batch of soup and it freezes beautifully.

Ingredients 

For soup:

• 3 medium sweet potatoes
• 2 large carrots
• 1 small white turnip
• 2 parsnips
• 1 medium celery root
• 3 – 4 tablespoons (45 – 60 mL) olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 head garlic
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) olive oil
• 6 – 8 cups (1.4 – 1.9 L) vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 mL) cayenne (or more, to taste)

For dukkah:

• 1/2 cup (125 mL) walnut pieces
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) sesame seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5 mL) coriander seeds
• 2 teaspoons (10 mL) cumin seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5 mL) whole black peppercorns
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) coarse sea salt

Method

• Preheat the oven to 400F.
• Peel all vegetables except garlic and cut into large (1.5 – 2 inch/3.5 – 5 cm) chunks. Place veggies in a roasting pan and drizzle liberally with olive oil. Toss to coat evenly and season with a little salt and pepper.
• Roast the vegetables until they are tender and just starting to brown (40 – 50 minutes).
• While vegetables are roasting, cut the top off the head of garlic. Place on a piece of tin foil and drizzle with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Fold up the foil to completely encase the garlic. Roast in the oven with the vegetables for 30 minutes.
• While vegetables and garlic are cooking, prepare the dukkah (garnish): In a dry skillet over medium heat, roast the coriander and cumin seeds until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Place in a mortar and pestle and pound together with the peppercorns until finely ground (you can also use a food processor or a spice/coffee mill to do this).  Put spice mix in a small mixing bowl.
• In same dry skillet, roast walnuts until fragrant, about 10 minutes (watch them carefully so that they don’t burn). Remove the nuts to a bowl as soon as they are toasted.
• In the same skillet, roast sesame seeds until they begin to turn golden brown, 2 – 3 minutes. Remove to a bowl as soon as they are done.
• Put walnuts, sesame seeds and salt in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Do not over process.
• Add nut mixture to spice mixture and stir to combine. Store in an airtight container for up to a month.
• Once the vegetables are cooked, put them in a large saucepan along with garlic, 6 cups of stock, maple syrup and cayenne.
• Bring to a boil over high heat then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
• Using a stick blender, puree the soup (or do it in a regular blender, in small batches). Add up to 2 cups more broth to get the consistency you like (it should be thick, but not too thick).
• Ladle hot soup into warmed bowls. Garnish each with 1 teaspoon (or a bit more) of dukkah.

Serves 8 – 12.