A Roasting

Roasted pumpkin and pear soup

If there’s a word in a recipe that catches my eye, it’s “roasted”, especially when it’s referring to a vegetable. I love what the heat of an oven can do to a vegetable, from the obvious such as potatoes, pumpkin and capsicum (which I can’t stand raw), to mushrooms, beetroot and zucchini. Went digging last night in my bookshelves to try and find some scientific explanations for this and, of course, the Curious Cook, Harold McGee, delivered. (I really haven’t explored my shiny new copy of his tome, McGee on Food & Cooking a great deal: reminds me too much of the dreaded maths and science classes that I slept through in high school.)
In his Edible Plants section, McGee writes: “… dry cooking methods remove moisture from the food surface, thus concentrating and intensifying flavour, and can heat it above the boiling point, to temperatures that generate the typical flavours and colours of the browning reaction. (See page 777)” And on page 777: “… the browning reactions produce new flavours … the simplest browning reaction is the caramelisation of sugar.” There’s more to be said, scientifically, about what happens when you stick a vegetable in an oven, but if I were to add a silly editor’s note to McGee’s margin it might be: “H.M.: this might be a good spot to suggest parents try roasting vegetables to coax their kids to eat them.” Seriously, I wonder if that might not be a key to persuading reluctant kids to eat their vegetables?
And, if you’re trying to watch your fat and carbohydrate intake, my non-scientific theory is that dishes that get a flavour spike from a roasted vegetable component rather than a dairy product or carbohydrate are a great thing to have in your repertoire. It’s amazing how special a fairly simple one-bowl-salad-meal can become if you throw in, for example, some roasted pumpkin. (I roasted some field mushrooms the other day and tossed them in a salad … great result. I’ll admit though, to some mischief – a very small amount of Bulgarian fetta was in the mix too and, of course, a streak of olive oil in the roasting.)
Coincidentally, I stumbled on an interesting website the other day: EarthShare is the site of a community supported agriculture scheme based near Forres in northeast Scotland. It grows “soft fruit and vegetables by organic methods for up to 200 local families”. Given I won’t be getting an EarthShare delivery anytime soon, what I liked was the site’s recipe index for vegetables – lots of great new ideas and more than a few that call for the vegetable to be roasted – Balsamic Roasted Beetroot with Garlic and Thyme; Warm salad of Savoy and Roasted Beetroot; Roasted Seasonal Vegetables with Couscous and Tomato Sauce; Roasted Carrot Soup with Thai Flavours; Roasted Roots with Parmesan; Roasted Root Vegetables with Cardamom; Celeriac and Roasted Garlic Soup; Parsnips Roasted with Lime; Roasted Swede and Honey Soup.
So, after all that, are you surprised that Lucy's suggestion of a roasted pumpkin and pear soup had me trembling? (Her inspiration came from former Chez Panisse chef Deborah Madison.) Simply brilliant result: one of those soups that will be on my table regularly for years to come.
So what do you do with roasted vegetables?

Roasted Pumpkin and Pear Soup
(Note: This is one of those rubbery recipes – increase or decrease the quantity of any ingredient to suit your tastes. Serves 4-6.)

4 pears
500g pumpkin (I like Jap pumpkins)
5cm chunk ginger
2tbsp olive oil
sea salt
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 medium onion, diced
500ml chicken or vegetable stock, kept hot in a saucepan
60ml natural yoghurt

Quarter and core pears (leaving the skin on); cut the pumpkin into chunks (leaving skin on). Peel ginger and cut into small sections.
Preheat oven to 160°C. In a large baking tray, toss pear, pumpkin and ginger with 1tbsp olive oil and sea salt to taste.
Roast pumpkin and pears until they are soft and just starting to brown – maybe 30 minutes. Remove from heat. When cool enough to handle, peel away the pumpkin skin. (I like to snack on the discarded skins as I go.)
In a large saucepan, heat remaining olive oil. Sweat garlic and onion until soft. Add pumpkin, pears and ginger mix, then hot stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and blend in a blender or food processor. You may find a few chunks of ginger remain … I discarded them.
Serve with a dollop of yoghurt.