Since it's September, and FALL is in the air (is it???), keep this recipe on hand because it epitomizes fall cooking/eating in my book!! Even if you THINK you don't like butternut squash, this could make you change your mind quickly!
Labriola Bakery offers butternut squash soup which is delicious! This is my interpretation & I venture to say it is as good, or BETTER:
Take one large butternut (OR 2 acorn) squash (halve it, remove seeds, turn it upside down & put it in a roasting pan set in a 1/2" water bath - bake for approx. one hour (or more, if it's large) @350 until tender - cool the squash a little bit, scoop it out and set it aside. Mash it up a bit.
In a large saucepan or small pot, saute 1/2 cup grated onion & ,1/2 c. peeled, grated apple in 1 Tblsp. olive oil and 4 Tblsp. butter - stir & cook (med/low heat) until translucent & tender, being careful not to let it get brown- approx. 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat.
To the onion in the pot, add the mashed squash, 1 Tblsp. chicken 'base' (like buillion) and 2 cups chicken broth - or vegetable stock if you're a vegetarian. With an immersion blender, puree the mixture. If you don't have an immersion blender (BUY one - they're wonderful!!), put the mixture in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.
Add 1 more cup of broth/stock, a dash of ground ginger (1/4+ tsp. of curry powder if you feel daring!) and blend. Season with salt & pepper. Cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes. Add 1 cup heavy (whipping) cream and 1 Tblsp. butter and continue to heat (on low- this will scorch easily!) and stir for another 15 minutes. Season with salt & pepper. For you purists, use white pepper instead (but in a smaller amount... warning: it's HOTTER than black pepper) to keep the color of the soup free of black speckles. If you want to kick up the heat a notch or 2, add a few shakes of cayenne.
This soup is heavenly served plain but it's also good with buttery, garlicky croutons (Labriola serves it that way) on top.
No comments:
Post a Comment