Thursday, January 6, 2011

Soup Quest: Savory Butternut Squash Soup

As I’ve mentioned before, my husband is not into soups. Personally, I love soup, stew, boiled dinners, etc. It just says winter to me in a nice, cozy way. And I especially love soup in the crock pot – it makes my life easier, and it makes the house smell amazing.

For my second attempt at a soup that he’ll eat, I tried one that you can drink. No confusion on the texture issues, just like drinking a warm, savory smoothie. That tastes vaguely like chicken. The verdict: He enjoyed it! Woo!

Ingredients:
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed (OR see alternative version below)
1qt box chicken broth
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp dried minced onion
Salt and pepper to taste

Put all of the ingredients in the crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4. Let it cool a bit, then blend in batches (trust me, don’t blend it while it’s hot) or use an immersion blender right in the pot. Once you have a nice, smooth, drinkable consistency, warm it back up (1/2 hour on high should do it).

If you want a thicker consistency, reduce the amount of broth.

Alternate Recipe:
If you’re like me, you really hate peeling and cubing butternut squash. Or any winter squash. So here’s the other way to do it – but it does require an additional step in the middle.

Ingredients:
1 medium butternut squash
1qt box chicken broth
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp dried minced onion
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the squash width-wise into slices, approximately 1” thick. Remove the very top, the very bottom, and the seeds. Put into the crock pot with ½ cup water and cook on high for 2 hours or until fork tender. Remove from crock pot, let cool, and scoop the squash from the rind. Put the squash back in the crock pot with the remaining ingredients, and cook for an additional 2 hours on high or 4 on low. Blend as directed above.

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