Sunday, November 08, 2009

Autumn Cravings


Farmer's Market Butternut Squash Soup with yellow zucchini, caramelized onions, and a garnish of toasted pine nuts, sour cream, and turkey bacon.

So, this seriously was the most simple and rewarding dish I have EVER made. Here's the quick breakdown of my make-shift recipe-

1 Butternut Squash- peeled and cubed
1 other squash, etc- I happened to have a zucchini or two, that seemed to work fine (cubed)
**Next time, I would love to add chic peas. Great texture and would add lots of depth**
1 red onion- half sliced and added to broth, other half to be sauteed with brown sugar and butter
4-5 slices of turkey bacon- to be cooked with the onions as they caramelize
1 package of vegetable broth
some pine nuts, or something to add extra crunch...
dollop of sour cream
oh yeah, some nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and pepper for the simmering broth and veggies

1) Add cubed squash, zucchini, onions and seasonings to vegetable broth in pot of sorts. Let simmer on low for as long as needed for contents to soften.
2) Simultaneously, caramelize onions in skillet. As they sauté in butter and brown sugar, add bacon strips to skillet.
3) Once veggies in pot are soft, start MASHING. No need to puree or emulsify anything, just take any old kitchen utensil and smush those veggies until the soup thickens and becomes smoother.
4) I am not a fan of perfectly smooth soups, reminds me too much of a juice from concentrate or something. I like to leave a bit of texture in the soup, so I stop mashing once I am satisfied with the consistency.
5) Add bacon and caramelized onions to bowl once prepped. Dollop of sour cream and pine nuts added for garnish.

Enjoy!

1 comment:

Lisa World said...

Hey lady, I am new to blogging and just clicked on 'next blog' and found yours. I am originally from the Baltimore/D.C. area, but being a military brat, I've moved around too much to call the area home. :( I wanted to say that I have only read the tip of the iceberg of your blog and plan to read more, but from what I've read so far, I've really enjoyed. I want to try the squash soup recipe ASAP. Thanks!