I’ve arrived at the point in the winter season when I turn into a serious hater. I hate my coats, my scarves, and my gloves. I hate shoving my feet into boots and freeing my face off each morning as I make the trek to the subway. I hate the sad selection of root vegetables and apples at the greenmarket. And with the teeth-rattling wind chills that raged all week, the only place that I wanted to be (besides curled up in bed) was in the kitchen making soup, pretending that I’d never have to go outside again.
Butternut squash soup is one of my winter favorites for a few key reasons. First off, it has only a few ingredients that are readily available and quite affordable.
And then there’s the fact that it is almost impossible to mess it up. Even my cat could make this soup.
And lastly, despite it’s decadent, creamy texture and big flavor, it’s ridiculously good for you (low in fat, high in nutrients).
This particular recipe features a puree of roasted red pepper drizzled on the top. I found the flavor off-putting and say don’t bother.
I used a hand blender to puree the soup right in the pot. If you do not have this very awesome gadget, never fear – a regular blender or food processor will yield the same effect. For me, it was worth the 25 bucks to never have to clean my blender after making soup.
I highly recommend using fresh thyme for this soup, and don’t forget to add the zest. The recipe calls for orange, but I used lemon instead.
As I mentioned earlier, If you like the taste of biting garlic and slightly bitter pepper overpowering the lovely creamy squash flavors, then this puree is for you. Otherwise, steer clear.
I served this soup with some rosemary crackers that I will show you in my next post. The soup was entirely delicious and achieved the desired warming effect, briefly lifting my spirits, if only until I had to return out into the elements once more.
Butternut Squash Soup with Roasted Red Pepper Purée
Adapted from Gourmet, December 2003
For the soup:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/4 cups chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 2 1/2-pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1-inch pieces
5 1/2 cups (or more) vegetable broth
3 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions; sauté until tender, about 12 minutes. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. Add squash and 5 1/2 cups broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until squash is soft, about 40 minutes. Cool slightly.
Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return puree to pot. Add 1 teaspoon thyme and orange peel. Thin soup with more broth if desired. Simmer 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly. Cover and chill. Rewarm before serving, thinning with more broth if desired.)
Ladle soup into bowls. Swirl 1 tablespoon Roasted Red Pepper Puree into soup in each bowl. Sprinkle with remaining 2 teaspoons thyme and serve.
For the puree:
1 cup coarsely chopped drained roasted red peppers from jar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
One Comment
we have something like this every thanksgiving, and this recipe is also delicious with “frizzled leeks,” as we call them in my house. cut up leeks and basically fry them in oil until they’re brown and crispy. blot off excess oil, add plenty of salt, and sprinkle on the soup. deeelicious.
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