Autumn Vegetables

Published on by nutritionhelpltd

To complete these posts on how to increase vegetable intake, I’ll add here a few recipes that make good use of some the autumn vegetables that are available in the shops.

Butternut Squash Soup

Gently steam-fry with a lid 1 large onion and 2 crushed cloves of garlic in 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and 2 tablespoons of water, or 1 tablespoon of unsalted organic butter. When onion is soft add 1 medium butternut squash and 1 potato, peeled and chopped into cubes. Add 1 litre of vegetable stock or water and simmer for about 30 minutes until vegetables are soft. Use a blender or food processor to blend the vegetables until smooth. Add a little more water if soup is too thick.  Return to the pan and season with black pepper, a little ‘Lo-salt’ and some dried chives. Swirl a spoonful of natural yoghurt into each bowl before serving if you are able to tolerate dairy.

Carrot and Ginger Soup

Steam fry 1 finely chopped onion over a gentle heat for 5 minutes with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon of water. Add 750g of organic carrots, scrubbed and chopped and 3-4 cm of root ginger, peeled and finely chopped, and stir over the heat for a few minutes before adding 1 litre of vegetable stock or water.  Simmer for about 10 minutes, until the carrots are soft. Liquidise the vegetables in a blender or food processor until smooth. Season if necessary.

Roast Vegetables

Roast vegetables really are such an easy way to get a wonderful variety of veg into a meal with the minimum of effort and fuss. Nearly any veg can be roasted, so it is a matter of getting to know what combinations you like. I will often cook a one-pot meal, using organic chicken portions or salmon, and throwing around it any vegetables that are in the fridge, chopping them into 2cm chunks. Great basics are red onion, red pepper, carrot, butternut squash, and beetroot. As I put a lid on this pot I can also add broccoli and green beans, which would burn if roasted uncovered. Use galic and chopped ginger root, sprigs of thyme or rosemary according to taste. Add a tablespoon of virgin coconut oil.

Roasted vegetables on their own, or with salmon, will cook in about 40 minutes in a medium oven.  If you are cooking it with chicken it will need about an hour or more, and check it is thoroughly cooked.  Remove lid for the last 5-10 minutes.