It's a cool fall day here in Colorado...soup weather. Yesterday, at Costco I found butternut squash peeled and cubed in the fresh fruit/veggie room. So guess what we are having for dinner tonight? Here's my favorite recipe (from my friend, Erin).
Erin's Butternut Squash Soup:
1 large or 2 small butternut squash (3-4 lbs) ) or 1 Costco package of cubed squash
1 Tbl. vegetable or olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 tsp. fresh ginger chopped
1 fresh jalapeno chopped and seeded (put in half if you don't like things too spicy)
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 ripe pears, peeled, cored and chopped--I didn't have this so I substituted apples, but I think pears are better for perfect texture
6 cups broth - chicken or vegetable
1 Tbls. honey
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp. thyme
Preheat oven to 400. Cut and seed squash into
quarters. Place face down in baking sheet with 1/2" water in pan. Bake
45 minutes. Let cool, then peel skins off (paring knife is easiest to
use for this). This step can be done 1-2 days ahead.
If you are used pre-cubes squash, cook according to package (usually 8 mins in the microwave).
In a large pot on medium heat, heat oil,
add onion, ginger, jalapeno, salt and pepper until onion starts to
brown (about 10 mins). Add pears, cook for 5 minutes. Add all squash and
broth, stir in honey and thyme. Bring to a boil, then simmer 15
minutes. Remove from heat, and let cool slightly.
Liquefy/puree in blender in batches (careful
blending hot soup!) I use emulsion hand blender instead so I don't have to transfer hot soup. Return to saucepan,
stir in cream and re-heat. Do not boil. Serve warm.
It is super delicious served with crusty bread and what my friends not call "the Janna salad."
My fall salad: I don't really have an exact recipe for this one. It varies every time I make it. But here is the gist of it.
- Mixed field greens OR chopped romaine lettuce
- Feta cheese
- Craisins
- Candied pecans OR sliced almonds (Caramelize plain sugar over med. heat in a skillet. Once it's in a liquid state, add the pecans. As soon as the pecans are coated, remove them from the pan and let them cool on foil. Careful! You don't want the sugar to burn.)
- OPTIONAL: sliced apples, sliced pears, artichoke hearts, bacon
- Toss with your favorite balsamic vinaigrette dressing. (Or make your own: veggie oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, celery seed, sugar, dry parsley.)
I'm making your salad tomorrow night! Thanks
Posted by: Kate | October 18, 2013 at 09:34 PM