Soothing to the soul.  That’s what good hearty comfort foods give us… like our bisque.
What is a bisque you may ask?  Bisque is simply a soup, that has the addition of cream, either in the soup, or like we offered here, swirled on top.

Roasting vegetables like we’ve done for this soup gives you another whole layer of flavor no matter how you serve them. The high heat of roasting brings out the natural sugars for root vegetables you will be missing when simply boiling in water or broth. 

You might look at this list of vegetables and see one or two you’re not fond of… don’t let that keep you from roasting them along with the others.  Once whirled together, they all add a little something to this rustic pot of goodness so you won’t distinguish that one(s) you don’t like.  Enjoy as a meal, or in-between when you need just a little something. Garnished with Rays Country Ham, this is a nice breakfast soup too.
And do be sure to stir up a skillet of our Honey Crackling Cornbread to have alongside it.

Makes 6-8 servings

12-16 ounces Rays Country Ham slices
¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons oil for roasting
For vegetables:  peel and cut all into similar size 1” cubes
(you’ll need 8-10 cups of vegetables)
1 large sweetpotato
2 large turnips
2 large parsnips
3 large carrots
1 large celery root
1 large sweet onion, sliced into thin slivers
about 8 large cloves of garlic
6 cups broth (we used vegetable)
several sprigs each of fresh parsley and sage
several bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup half and half or cream

Preheat oven to 425F.
Lightly coat ham with sugar on both sides.
Place onion slivers on baking pan. Lay slices of sugared ham over the onions.
Toss vegetables with oil and spread over ham slices. Roast about 25-30 minutes, turning the vegetable pieces about to roast all sides.

While vegetables roast, heat broth with thyme, sage and bay leaves to a simmer in Dutch oven so the herbs infuse broth with flavor.

When vegetables are done, remove herbs and add vegetables into broth. Let simmer about 15 minutes.  Using immersion or regular blender, puree the soup.

Cut ham into small pieces.
When ready to serve, drizzle soup with cream and top with pieces of the ham.  Serve with our Honey Crackling Cornbread.

Variation:  If you like a bit of smokey flavor, stir in 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika.