Date Night Dinner's - Butternut Squash Soup
It's harvest time! And with that comes lots and lots of...butternut squash of course. Ok, maybe only for some, but we happen to be some of those some! Am I confusing you yet? Brenden and I recently went traveled to upstate New York, and yes I mean upstate, not just a random part of NY that is not part of NYC. Ok, well maybe it is considered more western NY to those who are really, really up there. But, what does it matter really, let's not get carried away by the details. The point is that recently we took a trip to NY to run a half marathon, and visit Brenden's family.
Brenden's dad has a wonderful garden growing in his backyard, and of course with fall, he planted lots of pumpkins and squash. And, we got there just in time to grab as many as we could hold to bring back home with us. Yes, a dream come true! But now we are back home and we have an abundance of butternut squash and pumpkins and not enough to do with them. So why not make soup?! Perfect - plus one to Brenden for the brilliant idea.
So, Brenden slaved away on what turned out to be a rather delicious butternut squash soup (and yes, he labored away because he was all on his own for this one. I cannot take credit as I was busy finishing up a group project with a classmate only to finish just in time to eat...what a coincidence. I did help blend though). Unfortunately, in the process of roasting and dicing and stirring, Brenden conveniently "forgot" to add the onion. His aversion to vegetables makes me think his forgetfulness may have been a little preconceived here. But, non-the-less, the soup turned out fantastically. We did both agree that we would make the soup again, but this time add the onion, as it would add an extra burst of flavor to the soup (therefore, I included the onion in the recipe below even though we left it out. But, I promise you it tastes delicious without them, I wouldn't steer you wrong on this one). And, the best part of this soup is it tastes even better the next day! Yes I may have had a few spoonfuls with breakfast this morning...hey, wait until you make it, I bet you will be doing the same thing :).
Recipe adapted from chow.com, Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 2 whole medium to large butternut squash, halved lengthwise and deseeded
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium Grany Smith apple
- 1/2 tablespoon dried sage
- 1/4 tablespoon cayenne pepper
- 2.5 cups low sodium vegetable or chicken broth
- 2.5 cups water
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup nonfat, plain Greek yogurt
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place squash halves, cut-side up, on the foil.
- Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and brush it over the tops and insides of the squash halves.
- Season squash with salt and pepper.
- Place baking sheet in the oven for about an hour (until tender to a poke of a knife).
- Meanwhile, peel, core, and dice the apple into medium sized pieces.
- Dice the onion into medium sized pieces.
- Melt the remaining butter into a large saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the apple, onion, sage, and salt and pepper.
- Cook, stirring occasionally for about 7 minutes (until softened).
- Remove pan from heat and set aside.
- Remove squash from oven when ready and let cool.
- Once cool enough to handle, use a large spoon to scoop the flesh of the squash into the saucepan with the apples and onions (discard the skins).
- Add the broth, and water to the mixture, stirring to combine.
- Cook over medium high heat until soup comes to a boil.
- Once at a boil, reduce to a simmer over medium low heat and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally and breaking up large squash chunks.
- Remove the pan from heat and stir in yogurt.
- Spoon batches of soup into a blender and puree until smooth, and then return to a serving bowl or second saucepan (use an immersion blender to prevent use of multiple saucepans or dishes, as you can puree all at once).
- Taste and season with cayenne pepper, additional sage, and salt and pepper.
- Heat a large saute pan over medium heat.
- Butter bread as desired.
- Once pan is warm, place bread in, butter side down.
- Heat for about 5 minutes (until buttered side begins to turn golden brown and bread begins to feel crunchy, or until desired toastedness (Yes that is a word...maybe, and yes I am using double parenthesis)), and then remove from heat.
- Serve and enjoy!
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| Sorry no bread to see, we served it on a different plate... or we ate it too that fast because it was sooo good ;) |
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