Soup of roasted summer vegetables

Description

A dish of roast vegetables turns up time and time again in my kitchen. It is useful to have around as a salad or a pasta sauce but if neither sauce nor salad fits the bill, then I use the melange of roast vegetables for a summer soup.

Ingredients

200g/7oz tomatoes
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2-3 small summer carrots, sliced into short lengths
1 small bulb fennel, halved and sliced
2 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3 tbsp olive oil
1 medium courgette, thickly sliced
1.5 litres/2½ pints hot vegetable stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
100g/3½oz small dried pasta shapes
tight heart of a summer (pointed) cabbage, shredded
small bunch of basil, torn
extra virgin olive oil, to serve
30g/1½oz parmesan, grated

This is a Dig In recipe

Method

Set the oven at 220C/425F/Gas 7. Remove the stalks from the tomatoes and discard them, then put the tomatoes in a roasting tin. Peel and roughly chop the onion, then slice the carrots into short lengths, halve and slice the fennel and add all to the tomatoes. Peel the garlic and slice it thinly, then toss it with the vegetables and the olive oil. Roast for forty to forty-five minutes, until the vegetables are soft and pale gold.
Tip the vegetables into a deep saucepan, add the thickly sliced courgette and pour over the stock. Season with salt, pepper and the bay leaves. Bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer and leave to cook for twenty minutes.
Bring a large pan of water to the boil, salt it and add the pasta, letting it cook until it is tender but still has some bite - probably about nine minutes or so.
Shred the cabbage, grate the parmesan, tear the basil into pieces. Check the seasoning of the soup, then stir in the cooked and drained pasta, the cabbage and half the basil. Continue to simmer for five minutes or so.
Ladle into warm bowls, spoon over a little extra virgin olive oil, then scatter over the remaining basil and the grated parmesan.

This recipe has been tagged by Dig In. Make this dish even tastier, cheaper and rewarding by using your home-grown veg. If you're a novice grower wanting advice or a devotee with tips to share, visit Dig In and spread the word on growing your own.