Slow Roasted Vegetable Soup

The vegetables become really intensely flavoured, sweeter and more mellow. It's lovely served for lunch on a biting cold day with a big chunk of bread and some cheese. Alternatively you can tart it up for a dinner party by topping it with crispy bacon pieces, some crumbled cheshire cheese or herby croutoms.

• Ready In: 2 hrs 20 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1  large red onion, peeled
• 8  ounces carrots, peeled
• 8  ounces sweet potatoes, peeled
• 8  ounces  butternut squash, peeled and seeded
• 8  ounces  sweet red peppers, deseeded
• 6  ounces tomatoes
• 1  head garlic
• 1 -2  tablespoon olive oil
• 2  sprigs fresh rosemary
• 1 1⁄2 liters  vegetable stock
•  fresh ground black pepper
• 2 -3  tablespoons  low-fat Greek yogurt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C.
2. Chop the peeled and deseeded butternut squash, sweet potato, sweet peppers, onion and carrot into nice big chunky pieces - 2inch diameter will be fine.
3. Cut the tomatoes into similar sized chunks, and remove the seedy-jelly bit.
4. Toss the vegetables with the olive oil until they're nicely coated and add the rosemary.
5. Place in the oven for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours, adding the whole garlic bulb after the first hour. The veg should now be cooked, slightly caramelised and almost chewy, with a much more intense and mellow flavour.
6. Remove the rosemary sprigs and place all veggies in a pan. Squeeze the garlic out of their papery husks into the pan too and add stock.
7. If there is any gooey residue on the bottom of the roasting tin, pour a little of the stock into it and scrape it into the pan, as this is where the serious flavour is!
8. Liquidize the soup in batches and reheat. Check seasoning and serve in big bowls with a swirl of greek yogurt on top.