27 October, 2009

Butternut Squash Soup


I made this Butternut Squash Soup recipe two times last fall. 
It has a lovely color with a bit of a kick.

It has no dairy, so it freezes wonderfully. It also makes a huge amount, thereby forcing you to freeze some (12 cups).  A good way to freeze soup is to put the leftovers in a freezer quality ziploc bag and place in a 9x13 cake pan until frozen. You then can stack your soups flat - saving space.

My mom & Dad do this with fresh grape juice as well.

Officially called: Butternut Squash and Roasted Pepper Soup
by Tabitha Blankenbiller

2 red Bell Peppers, seeded, cored and cut in half lengthwise
2 Tbsp. Canola Oil - I use Olive oil.
1 lg. Onion, diced
1 tsp. ground Cumin
1 tsp. ground Coriander
3 lbs - about 2 lg. squash (I only used up one - are Oregon Butternuts gigantic?), seeded and sliced into cubes
8 cups Water
2 1/2 tsp. Salt
---------------------------
1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper 
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Black Pepper

Preheat oven to broil. On a foil-lined baking sheet, place peppers skin side up and place under broiler. Keep a close  eye on the peppers and when black blistering begins to form, remove from oven. This should take about 8 - 10 minutes. Allow the peppers to cool 20 minutes and transfer to blender. Puree until smooth. Set aside.

In a heavy stockpot, heat 1 Tbsp. butter and the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently until soft, but not browned ~ 4 minutes. Add cumin and coriander and cook one more minute.

Add the squash, water, roasted pepper puree and salt. Simmer, covered, for 35 - 40 minutes over low heat, or until squash is very soft. If you  have an immersion blender, you can puree the squash right in the pot. If not, transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor to puree, and then return to pot.

Stir in cayenne pepper, creme fraiche (opt.), nutmeg and black pepper. To serve, top with diced tomatoes and toasted cashews ( toasted cashews?? I eat them before they get home to get toasted. Who writes these garnish moments anyway?)


I found this recipe in the Canby Herald printed paper on October 15, 2008. Sorry - I could not find it archived on-line.

1 comment:

  1. Wow, I have officially been blogged! Thank you, that is awesome! I'm so glad you liked the soup - and that somebody read that column in the paper! :)

    ReplyDelete

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