Butternut Squash Soup

 

I wanted to try this butternut squash recipe from Ruth Reichl's My Kitchen Year cookbook.  She is my number one favorite food writer and I have every book she has ever written.

I believe this is going to become my "go-to" butternut squash soup recipe.  In the past I have pretty much always made this Cream of Butternut Squash Soup which is really good but this recipe is so light and simple.  Not just in how it's made but because it doesn't have added cream, sherry, etc. the beautiful fresh flavor of the squash is the star of the show. 

Aside from a little olive oil, salt and water these are the only ingredients to create this soup. Since everything is going to be pureéd you don't have to be particular about chopping the vegetables.

Sauté the aromatics in a little olive oil until tender.  Notice my last sentence..very to the point and boring.  Here is how Ruth instructs: "Slick the bottom of a casserole or Dutch oven with olive oil, add the vegetables, and let them tumble into tenderness, ......"  I really do enjoy her writing. (bold emphasis is mine)

 Add the squash and potato to the vegetables and add salt and water.

Cover and simmer until everything is soft.

 

In batches, transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and pureé until smooth.

Return to pot to re-heat. 

Serve with a drizzle of olive oil or balsamic vinegar.  I topped mine off with a little splash of Apple Balsamic that I bought at Vomfass in Scottsdale. Perfect.


Butternut Squash Soup
From My Kitchen Year - 136 Recipes that Saved My Life" by Ruth Reichl
Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:
1 stalk celery
2 carrots
1 yellow onion
1 pound butternut squash *
1/2 pound potato (preferably waxy like Yukon Gold)
salt
water

Mise en Place:

• roughly chop celery (I like to pull most of the strings off the stalk first)
• peel and roughly chop carrots
• roughly chop onion
• peel and cut the squash into 3/4 " pieces (butternut is easier to cut if you peel it first. Be sure to peel down to the bright orange flesh)
• peel and roughly chop the potato

Method:
Drizzle a little olive oil to cover the bottom of a Dutch oven.  Sauté the celery, carrots, and onion until tender, about 10 minutes.

Stir the squash and potato into the vegetables, add a couple teaspoons of Kosher salt and toss.  Bring 2-1/2 cups of water to boil in the microwave then add to the vegetables.  Cover and allow to simmer until all ingredients are soft.

Transfer the mixture, in batches, to a blender and pureé.  Be sure to cover the lid of the blender with a folded tea-towel in case their are any "explosions" - this is a hot mixture.  Return the pureé to a pot to re-heat.

Serve in bowls and drizzle with a little olive oil or Balsamic vinegar.

* you can use just about any winter squash. 

Cream of Butternut Squash Soup with Sea Scallops and Shrimp

Come Autumn, butternut squash is used a lot in our house.  Soup is a staple.  I've tasted many delicious butternut squash soups that are more on the sweet side, using apples, cinnamon and nutmeg. This one is a more savory recipe garnished with scallops and shrimp.

It's really easy; the majority of the labor is in chopping all the vegetables.

The squash, onion and garlic are all thrown into a Dutch oven.  I've also added a bouquet garni of thyme, rosemary, parsley, sage, and bay leaf. For this soup I wrapped the herbs in cheese cloth because I didn't want flecks of the herbs in the soup. 

 After the chicken broth and cream are added to the pot it's all brought to a boil. Cover the pot and lit it simmer over reduced heat until the squash is tender.

 Discard the bouquet garni

In batches, puree in a blender or food processor.  With this batch I had to use my immersion blender because my blender broke and I sold my food processor in our estate sale.  It is at this point that you can make this soup as thick or thin as you like.  You can add chicken broth, milk,  or cream.

 

  

You can garnish the soup with anything you want; pepitaps, croutons, grated cheese, and on and on.  I opted for sauteéd scallops and shrimp sauteéd in butter.

Ladle into soup bowl, garnish and enjoy.

Butternut Squash Soup

Serves 10 or more

Ingredients:
3 pounds butternut squash
1 large yellow onion
1 large clove garlic
1-1/4 tsp. salt, divided
1/8 tsp. ground pepper
3 sprigs flat leaf parsley
1 fresh sage leaf
1 large sprig rosemary
4 sprigs thyme
 3-4 bay leaves
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup whipping cream
10 sea scallops
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
10 large shrimp
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Method:
Peel, seed and cube the squash and toss in a 5 to 6 quart Dutch Oven.  Chop onion and dice garlic and add to pot.  Add 3/4 tsp of the salt and pepper to the pot. 

In the center of a square piece of cheese cloth  bundle the parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme and bay leaves. Roll the cheese cloth around the herbs and tie at each end and the middle with kitchen twine.  Throw into pot.

Pour the chicken broth and whipping cream into the pot. Stir to mix, cover the pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes or until squash is tender. Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool for 10 minutes.

Peel and de-vein the shrimp and set aside. Pat scallops dry on both sides and set aside.

In batches, pureé the mixture until smooth and return to pot.  Add additional broth or cream if you wish, depending on your desire of thickness of the soup. Keep soup warm.

For the scallops, preheat a 12-inch non-stick skillet over high heat.  Add 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil.  Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 tsp. salt.  When oil starts to smoke, add scallops to pan.  When scallops brown, turn over and turn off heat. Cook for 1 minute. Remove from skillet  to avoid overcooking.  Wipe out skillet.

Return skillet to medium heat and melt the unsalted butter until foaming subsides and the butter is golden brown   Add shrimp and sauté for 1-1/2 minutes on each side.

Ladle soup into soup bowls and garnish with the scallops and shrimp.

Winter Squash and Gruyere Gratin

The ingredients that made me look twice at this recipe were the butternut squash, the leek, white wine, and the Gruyere.  Surely those four ingredients could produce something tasty.

The squash gets baked

the leek gets steamed

and the wine becomes the beginning of a creamy sauce

You are given the option of using evaporated skim milk (which is what I used) or whole milk.  I wasn't impressed with the evaporated milk.  I suggest you use whole or 2% milk.

Instead of the bread crumb/cheese mixture typical for a gratin, this recipe called for toasted slices of a baguette.

All of the ingredients waiting to be layered.  I could tell there was no way these ingredients were going to fit in the shallow traditional au gratin dish so I used an 8 cup casserole.

Start with half of the squash

Half the sauce

Half the toasted baguette slices

then the Gruyere



Repeat the layers, top with the Parmesan and bake.


Winter Squash and Gruyere Gratin
Adapted from Food and Wine October 1988
Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:
2 medium butternut squash (1-1/2 pounds each)
3/4 tsp salt, divided
3/4 tsp freshly ground pepper, divided
1 medium leek
1 tsp olive oil
2 tsp water
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
1 cup whole or 2% milk
1/2 tsp sugar
8 - 10 thin slices of a baguette
4 ounces Gruyere cheese
2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
8 basil leaves, shredded (optional)

Mise en place

• Slice squash in half lengthwise; remove seeds
• clean leek and chop the white part only
• measure olive oil into a medium saucepan
• slice baguette and toast in oven until brown on both sides
• measure seasonings, wine, chicken stock, milk, and sugar
• grate cheeses

Method:
Pre-heat oven to 400°F.  Place halves, cut side up, in a baking dish.  Season with 1/2 tsp each of the salt and pepper and cover tightly with foil.  Bake until the squash are tender but not mushy, about 1 hour.  Set aside to cool slightly.  With a large spoon, scoop meat of the squash in pieces into a bowl and set aside.

While squash are baking, combine the leek, olive oil and 2 tsp water in a medium saucepan.  Cover and cook over moderately low heat until the leek is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.  Remove the lid and stir in the wine.  Increase the heat to high and boil until the liquid is reduced to approximately 3 Tbsp, about 3 minutes.  Stir in the stock, milk, sugar and remaining 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper.  Remove from the heat.

To assemble the gratin, preheat the oven to 400°F.  Re-heat the leek mixture until hot but not so hot that the mixture separates.  Spoon half of the squash into a 6 to 8 cup ovenproof casserole.  Ladle half of the leek mixture over the top and cover with half of the toasted baguettes and half of the Gruyere.  Repeat the layers with the remaining squash, leek mixture, baguettes and Gruyere.  Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top.

Bake the gratin for 30 minutes, or until the top is browned and bubbly.  Garnish with the basil and serve (optional)