Roasting Vegetables in Convection Ovens: Elevating Your Soup Game

Convection and Steam ovens are remarkable tools because they offer many options that simplify meal preparation. All it takes to benefit from those tools is some planning.

One of the more remarkable aspects of convection is the ability to cook multiple foods at once with no transfer of flavor. That means that any time your oven is on unless you are cooking a specialty item that requires precise temperatures, you should be able to cook several different foods simultaneously.

Roasted Cauliflower Soup

Since it’s the season for warming winter soups, let's look at how using your Convection or Steam oven can simplify the process and help you create flavorful soups.

Roasting Vegetables in Convection the Key to Delicious Soup

There are several reasons why roasting vegetables for soup makes sense.

• When vegetables are roasted, their natural sugars caramelize to develop better flavor.

• Vegetables roasted in Convection retain more moisture, which translates to better flavor.

• Most of us don’t have a large soup pot to accommodate a large quantity of vegetables, so roasting vegetables for soup makes more sense.

• Best of all, it’s easy to roast a tray of vegetables for soup while cooking other foods.

Making the soup base on the cooktop is relatively easy. Slowly cook the foundation ingredients, such as onions, leeks, garlic, carrots, and celery. Add the stock and simmer for approximately 20 minutes before adding the roasted vegetables.

Soups containing pumpkin, butternut squash, cauliflower, mushrooms, tomatoes, broccoli, corn, and zucchini can be pureed. Still, various roasted cubed vegetables can be added to broth soups or soups featuring beans or lentils.

Roasted Cauliflower

Roasted Butternut Squash

Cheese Crackers

Best Convection Oven Mode for Crisp Roasted Vegetables

The Convection Roast or Convection Bake mode will work for oven-roasting vegetables. If you roast the vegetables on rack position 1 or 2, counting up from the bottom of the oven, they will be close to the bottom heating element and should caramelize well. If you need more crisping, move the tray closer to the top heating element for the final 10 minutes of cooking.

Roasting in multiple racks

The ideal cooking temperature and timing will, of course, depend on your oven. For example, 375F in my 24” oven is very powerful, but larger 30” ovens may provide better results at 400F. I also notice that a high temperature can cause burning on the edges when I roast vegetables in my gas oven. Understanding the rack position and temperature that will work best in your oven is critical to successful cooking. Don’t follow a recipe blindly; observe how your oven cooks to achieve the best results.

Some vegetables such as fresh corn, peppers or tomatoes, add a lot of flavor to soup if they are cooked in the Convection Broil mode to gain a nice char. Coarsely chopped and added into the soup these vegetables will add wonderful bursts of flavor.

Another vital aspect of roasting vegetables is using the right amount of oil. If the vegetables are tossed in too much oil they become limp, not enough and they will be dry. Start with a light coating of oil and adjust as needed.

Steaming Vegetables for Soup

Roasted vegetables give soup a lot of flavor, but certain soups are delicious made with steamed vegetables. When you are in the mood for a soup with fresh, bright flavors, steamed peas, broccoli, asparagus, spinach, and potatoes are a good choice for a lighter soup.

While roasting or steaming vegetables can enhance soup, the key to good soup is. Yes, it takes planning, but it is easy and good stock. Roasting bones for stock or simmering a chicken carcass are easy to do, yes it takes planning, but it is easy and your soup will be so much more delicious made with homemade stock.

So next time you bake a casserole, bake some potatoes or roast a chicken, consider starting a soup base on the cooktop and roasting some vegetables for another easy, delicious convection meal.

Thanksgiving is such an important feast, but it can cause tremendous stress when orchestrating the cooking of so much food. In my next post, I will address the best type of pan to roast your turkey or turkey breast this Thanksgiving and remind you of the many helpful videos and recipes I have created to help you understand how Convection can ease the stress of cooking.

Larissa, Your Convection Enthusiast