Hearty Butternut Squash Soup
I love butternut squash! My favorite way to eat it is as a
soup, but I always find that the canned versions are too milky or too
subdued. I wanted to come up with a way
to showcase butternut squash and its bold flavor. I pump up the volume by roasting it first and
adding sweet apple and red onion… so good!
3lb butternut squash, peeled,
seeded, ½ inch dice
(about 7 cups squash chunks)
1 medium sized red onion,
½-1 inch dice
1 large apple, peeled, cored,
½-1 inch dice (Gala,
Honeycrisp, or Cripps Pink)
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons
extra-virgin olive oil, separated
1 ½ teaspoons salt, separated
¾ teaspoon pepper, separated
2 cups unsweetened almond milk or cow’s milk
1 cup water
Preheat
oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine butternut
squash, ¼ cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper. Mix well.
Place seasoned squash onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and
set aside.
In the same large bowl, combine red
onion, apple, 2 tablespoons olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon
pepper. Mix Well. Place seasoned onion and apple onto another baking
sheet lined with parchment paper.
Place both baking sheets in the
oven. Bake for 35 minutes until the squash,
onion, and apple are soft and fork tender.
Let cool, 5-6 minutes.
In a food processor or blender,
blend together softened squash, apples, and onions with 2 cups unsweetened
almond milk or cow’s milk and 1 cup water. Blend well, until a smooth puree is
made.*
Heat puree in a medium sauce pan
over low heat, stirring often to keep it from bubbling up. Once heated, ladle hot soup into bowls. Serve with toasted baguettes** or Lauren Marie’s ItalianCroutons. Enjoy!
Lauren
Marie’s Tips:
*This is a thick soup because you get a bolder flavor that
way and plus, that’s how my family likes it. But if your family prefers a
thinner soup, add ¼ cup of water or almond milk at a time while the puree is
still in the food processor or blender, and blend well. Repeat until you get the consistency you
want.
_______________________________________________________________________
How to cut a butternut squash:
It takes a sharp knife and a little muscle to cut a butternut squash, but the end result is completely worth it!
First, peel off outer skin with a sharp vegetable peeler or knife.
There are two main parts: the skinny top part and the fatter bottom part
(the "butt" of the butternut as I like to call it). Make a cut in between the two.
Set the skinny part on a cutting board so it sits flat and steady.
Then slice and chop.
The bottom part has seeds. So it requires just one more step.
Cut the bottom in half and you will find the seeds.
Simply use a spoon to remove the seeds from each half. I actually love this part because the smell reminds me of carving pumpkins.
After it's seeded, chop, and continue with the recipe.
No comments:
Post a Comment