curried butternut squash soup

If I have to pick a favorite soup, it's going to be butternut squash soup. I especially like all the possible variations of butternut squash soup and toppings. The first time I made this curried soup version I think I fell down on my toppings, they were kind of an afterthought, just ok, not great. The second time I made curried butternut squash soup I tried something a little more interesting and fun. Unfortunately I couldn't take a photo with the cool 😎 toppings but I'll tell you what I did and you can take it from there. I didn't add an apple to this soup but I would suggest trying that as well, apples go very well in butternut squash soup.

Ingredients and Recipe for Curried Butternut Squash Soup
Serves 6-8

2 medium size butternut squash, cut in half stringy seeds removed.

1 Yukon Gold potato

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped

1/2 large red bell pepper, chopped

1 garlic clove, smashed

4 small fresh bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/8 teaspoon Aleppo pepper

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 quart vegetable broth

Fun toppings

fresh dill, finely chopped

Pomegranate seeds

Crème fraîche

Preheat oven to 400F

Line a large baking sheet with parchment.

Place the butternut squash halves cut side up and the Yukon Gold potato on the baking sheet.

Roast for 50-60 minutes or until squash and potato are tender.

In a heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat add the olive oil.

When the oil sizzles, stir in the carrots, onion and red bell pepper, cook and stir until onion is translucent.

Stir in the garlic, bay leaves, curry powder, garam masala, turmeric, cumin seeds and Aleppo pepper, cook and stir until fragrant. Pour in the wine and reduce for a few minutes. Add the butternut squash and potato, breaking up into pieces with a wooden spoon. Add the vegetable broth. Cook the soup until everything is tender, about 35 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool slightly. Blend the soup until smooth using a blender or NutriBullet, add water to thin soup as needed.

Serve hot in bowls with toppings; chopped cooked red pepper from the soup pot before blending or sprinkle on a few pomegranate seeds, fresh chopped dill and a spoonful of crème fraîche.

Comments

springtime chamomile tea cake with strawberry icing

Good grief, Easter is in the rear view mirror and we are deep into this new year. And once again it's tea time at my house. This chamomile tea cake is a beautiful sweet addition to any tea ritual, especially my favorite, chamomile tea, which I rediscovered in my hotel room in Carmel earlier this fast moving year. I highly recommend a slice of chamomile tea cake with strawberry 🍓 icing with a cup of chamomile tea to just take a moment and slow this year down. Baking with tea is both creative and fun. Earlier this year I made Earl Gray sugar cookies which are made using the same method of infusing the butter with loose tea. For my tea cake I also rubbed the lemon zest into the sugar -another way to lend a pop of citrus to your baking. The strawberry icing is made using freeze dried strawberries, I pulverize them in my spice mill and then they are pressed through a fine sieve into the confectioner's sugar. In addition to using lemon zest rubbed into the sugar for the cake

braised romano beans with heirloom tomatoes and purple leaf sweet basil

Romano beans braised in heirloom tomato sauce, shallots and garlic make an easy summer side dish -excellent served with grilled fish and potato purée. I know because that's what we had for dinner last Saturday night. I happily used purple basil from my own herb pots that are now watered with leftover shower water. We have many more months of drought ahead of us in California and apparently mask wearing when in public, no not in the car. I appreciate our farmers markets more than ever, thank you farmers for romano beans and heirloom tomatoes and also myself for the fresh purple basil. Such a treat to find fresh romano green beans at the farmers market; they hold up to a fairly long, about 20 minute braise and become tender in the tomato broth from the heirloom tomatoes. 🍅 This is one of those simple good veg recipes. Ingredients and Recipe for Romano Beans with Heirloom Tomatoes and Purple Leaf Sweet Basil Serves 2-4 1 pound fresh romano beans, washed and trimmed 2 tablespoon

pear jam with saffron infused honey and cardamom

Pear Jam with Saffron Infused Honey and Cardamom The summer after high school I worked sorting Bartlett pears at the Scotts Valley Fruit Exchange in Lake County California. I thought I would never touch or eat another pear again in my life. But, here I am years years later making pear jam in my kitchen with pears, honey and saffron grown in Lake County. A few weeks ago My husband and I went to visit friends in Kelseyville at their finca, they generously supplied me with the pears from their orchard-Finca Castelero- for my jam. I will never forget getting up early in the morning and riding my bike across the valley from my cousin's house to work a long hot day sorting pears. I remember thinking whoever came up with the idea of creating a cooperative to sort, pack and send pears from family farms, including my cousin's family farm on what is now called Hendricks road, to markets all over the country really had a good idea! I never looked at pears in the grocery store the s

Tarragon and Chives

Search This Blog