Butternut Squash Soup

[Le Taz Hot]

Last edited Tue Jan 7, 2014, 02:13 PM - Edit history (1)

I think I've posted this here before but just in case, this is a great recipe, very tasty, very cheap and great for cold winter days.

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:
1 (2 to 3 pounds) butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 medium onion
6 cups chicken stock (veggie stock is fine)
Nutmeg
Salt and freshly-ground pepper


Directions:
In large pot, melt butter. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add squash and stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until squash is tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove squash chunks with slotted spoon and place in blender and puree (you'll have to add liquid from the soup to keep the blender blades moving). Return blended squash to pot. Stir and season with nutmeg and cook on a simmer for about 30 minutes.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

1. Sounds great thanks. I was at a restaurant in New Orleans

where they roasted the squash first and added curry powder. It was unbelievably delicious. Gonna look for a recipe for this.

[Mira]

8. The curry is what I like - actually I season it

with Garam Masala - and I also add celery and carrots - once you run it through the immersion blender only hour tastebuds know.

[TreasonousBastard]

2. Excellent soup, and variations are legion...

I've left some of the chunks in there to have something to chew on. I've also added sliced green and red peppers, various hot pepper powders, curry powder, garlic, cinnamon, and cauliflower. Once I think I threw in some Brussels sprouts.

Pretty much anything goes and no matter what I've done to it, people slurp it down. Other squashes are fine, too, and I'm particularly partial to acorn. Butternut is excellent, but I suspect it's used so much more because it has such a small seed cavity.

Completely out of any kind of squash? Look for canned pumpkin and have at it.

I might make some later tonight-- this weather is calling for a solid soup.

On edit-- I get cans of beans when on sale, and garbanzos and black beans are particularly relished in a squash soup.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

10. Interesting - would have never thought about throwing in beans - but good protein idea. another

thing I have added is greens at the end to wilt. Our grocery carries organic "power greens" that are great. Baby spinach, kale, and swiss chard mix.

[sir pball]

3. I deeply brown the butter before adding the onions

It's my "secret ingredient" - people go insane over it and very few are able to guess right. If you're feeling terribly unhealthy, you can also use some cream when you blend it, instead of the cooking liquid.

(If you haven't made brown butter before, watch this and try a couple of test runs - it's incredibly easy, but it does need some timing.)

[Le Taz Hot]

4. Says "This webpage cannot be found."

[sir pball]

5. Fixed that for ya

Apparently linking videos doesn't work, it's embedded now.

[Le Taz Hot]

6. Cool!

I'm about to go in and make my soup. I'll try it.

[sir pball]

7. I'll confess I usually use more like a stick of butter

It emulsifies in great when you blend it, doesn't make the soup any heavier really. But it does really dial up the nutty toasty brown flavor. If you aren't closely watching your fat intake I'd highly recommend.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

9. Ahhh....that looks great. My sound on my computer stopped working

they didn't skim off the solids (like clarified) did they? Just put it on ice and that was it?

[sir pball]

13. No, the solids are the flavor in this case

Really, for the soup, you can just bring it to the browned stage and then just dump the stock right in. It sizzles a bit but that's about all the excitement.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

17. salted or unsalted?

[sir pball]

18. Either/or, it doesn't affect the browning.

I usually keep both on hand, sticks of unsalted for cooking and a brick of very good cultured/"European-style" (L'Escure or Vermont Creamery, usually) salted for the table.

There's few pleasures in life better than a big glob of slightly tangy, salty butter melting into a big hunk of extra-crusty French bread. I think I know what's for breakfast..

[Laura PourMeADrink]

27. thanks...made it tonight....but added garlic, capers, and lemons.

It was a sauce to put over tuna. Came out great ! Thanks !

BTW...do you ever make butter ? Yikes it is so easy. Food process heavy cream, add salt, then drain.

[cbayer]

11. Similar to the fava bean soup I just made.

One question. Why would you take the the squash pieces out and puree as opposed to just pureeing the whole thing?

This is one of those soups where a stick blender is magic. You don't even have to dirty another pot/blender thingy.

[Le Taz Hot]

12. I don't know.

It's just the way I've always made it. The stick blender thingy is good for some things but not for others. Sometimes the blade gets gunked up (technical term) easily whereas the regular blender has less of a tendency to seize up because of solid obstructions. Then again, I have a cheapie stick blender so that may be my problem.

[sir pball]

14. Consistency, in both meanings

You get far more precise and repeatable control over the thickness of the soup by blending it with liquid added as needed. Also, I have yet to meet a stick that can match my Vita-prep 3 for smoothness. Power!

[cbayer]

15. I don't doubt that, but

I have limited electrify and limited storage space, so a Vita-prep is out of the question.

My stick blender serves many functions, a trait that I highly value.

[sir pball]

16. I love my stick and wouldn't give it up for anything

But given my proclivities (and profession) I was able to justify the entirely insane blender pretty easily

[cbayer]

19. If I might, what are your proclivities and profession?

[sir pball]

20. To both, chef

I don't halfass with my tools at work or at home, and having proper equipment at home vastly helps recipe development.

I basically have a nano-restaurant kitchen in the apartment - 8 quart KitchenAid, VP-3 (not a Suzy Homemaker Vita-Mix...the 3 refers to horsepower ), 14-cup Cusinart, Anova circulator, Foodsaver vacuum packer, a couple of induction burners, full set of All-Clads, an iSi foamer, and of course I carry my knives everywhere. Also two chinoises, a coarse and fine tamis, French mandoline, a giant stack of proper stainless mixing bowls, real half-sheet pans, metal tongs and fish spatulae, both kg and a 0.1g scales, and a full chemistry set of hydrocolloids, emulsifiers, thickeners, stabilizers, and even *gasp* a bag of meat glue!

[cbayer]

21. Very cool.

I agree about tools. I recently invest in good knives and it has changed my life.

I am sure they are not like yours, but I treasure them.

The meat glue is a completely new thing to me! Thanks for your explanation in that thread.

Someday I will again move into a place with a real kitchen. My space is extraordinarily limited, but I manage to put out some pretty good food, regardless.

[sir pball]

22. Space is less important than it seems..

I mean, besides having the space to store all the gear. Our kitchen now is actually huge by NYC standards, especially for a studio - there's two feet of space between the stove and sink and the opposite wall is a solid five-foot counter...of which at least three feet are full of appliances (mixers and blenders don't fit in cabinets very well). It's literally more space than I have at work, believe it or not.

Realistically though, all you need space for is a full-sized cutting board (18x24) and a couple of bowls...I was perfectly content in my old place with nothing but an Ikea workbench that was something like 3.5'x2' for everything including appliances. It's less how mucbh space you have and more how you work; if you plan ahead and stage out the prep you can craft a five-course dinner for four in just about any environment. True story, I've had to put cutting boards on stoves at a couple of private parties I was catering.

I secretly still have an idea for a food show revolving around cooking in tiny apartments. "Small Space, Big Taste!"

[cbayer]

23. I'm not sure you realize how little space we are talking about.

The counter space on the left is also the doors to the refrigerator. Two feet? That's tickles me.

And cabinet space is also extremely limited.

But that's ok. I still manage to do pretty well. Ingredient coordination, time management and planning all help with the challenges of working in a very tiny space.

If you ever get to your food show, let me know. I might be able to share some of my experiences with you.

[sir pball]

24. Psh. I'll outcook Keller in that kitchen.

In all seriousness, the cutting board by the sink would be adequate, if less than ideal. You can only really physically use that much space at once anyway, if you need a full counter to scatter ingredients on waiting to be processed you're doing it horribly wrong. I had about eight inches more than that total in my old place, I'd have killed for the chest fridge that I could work on top of. And...that's actually more space than I have at work. Bigger kitchen, yes, but also six cooks. For prep I have one big cutting board and what table space I can squeeze, service I have a 2/3-sized board with a little less space than the bit the coffeepot is sitting on.

You've hit the nail right on the head with planning ahead - it's more or less the identical skillset you need in a professional environment, just for different constraints; there it's all about getting orders out quickly and efficiently instead of minimizing your footprint, but you still need to have managed everything piecewise, sequentially, and then integrated it into the final product rather than shotgunning everything at the same time to get there.

Not to sound TOO high-and-mighty but in 18 years in the business I've probably got all those experiences already and then some

Oh..houseboat?

[cbayer]

25. Sail boat.

My husband calls my galley my laboratory. I approach it with the planning and precision that I would use if doing experiments in the lab.

I have a lot of respect for what people like you do.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

28. Wow...envy you. I love to cook. Seriously love it and get lost

in time when I am in the kitchen. But, the hardest thing for me is timing so that each component is cooked properly and it all comes together at the right time. Do you have any advice? As a pro, do you actually plan that out at the onset? Fire this, then this, and then this at 1 minute
before service?

[sir pball]

29. Coordination among multiple people, mostly.

A plate isn't cooked by one person; the protein and sauces are usually one cook and the garnish is one or two others. The guy on the meat sets a time to the pass when he starts cooking and the veg cook, knowing how long their components take, starts at an appropriate time. Everything is sent up individually and the souschef up front actually assembles the plated dish.

If you're doing it at home solo, it's basically like you outlined. Stage everything so it's all ready at the same time. Or cook as much as possible ahead of time and just reheat at the last minute.

[Sienna86]

26. I make a similar recipe.

Use water instead of stock.
Add a pinch of cinnamon and powdered ginger instead of nutmeg.
Add 3-4 oz. cream cheese at end.
Purée all in blender.

Simply beautiful and delicious.

You can also cut the squash lengthwise and place cut side down in pan. Bake at 400 for one hour.
Just learned this is so much easier than chopping it up. And takes equally as good.