I find that cutting up a butternut squash is a labor of love.
First it takes a huge knife and some serious upper arm strength to cut one in half, much patience with a vegetable peeler, especially around the bulb, and a final burst of wherewithal to scrape out the seeds. But after I have skinned and chopped up the squash into little pieces (that sounds so gory), I feel like I am home free, even though I am just getting started.
After a moment to appreciate the vibrant color, it is time to roast. This takes 1 1/2 hours, if you follow the recipe that I did, and another 20 minutes on the stove top.
Have you figured out what we're making yet?
It looks so harmless, doesn't it?Roasted Butternut Squash Soup (adapted from seriouseats.com)
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 onion, sliced or chopped
1 head of garlic, cloves peeled and separated
3 1/2 cups of chicken broth
salt
pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss squash with olive oil, onions, garlic, salt, and 1 cup of broth. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, checking occasionally to turn mixture. Mix in a large pot with 2 1/2 cups of broth on low-medium heat for 20 minutes. I used an immersion blender to mix and added salt and pepper to taste.
4 comments:
Coincidently I cooked up some butternut squash last night too. Mine came pre-cut and i boiled it covered until soft. Mixed it with some honey. That's all. Boring but I could have perked it up. I'll try your soup for company next week. Will probably skip the squash-cutting ceremony as you know how bad my knives are. Sounds yummy!
this one's easier - no roasting - and awesome. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Butternut-Squash-Soup-with-Cider-Cream-15657
i make it almost every year, though last night i made something similar but with prosciutto and corn.
i've started using my big knife to peel the outside off - cut the thing in half then go from top to bottom around it with the big knife. no peeler needed, but your knife needs to be heavy and sharp. it's gotten really easy = more squash soup!
I think I would lose a lot of the squash if I peeled with a knife. How do you cut around the bulb?
good question. i slice the squash in half right above the bulb and slice off the bottom. i start with the top part and run the knife from top to bottom close to the edge, kind of curving the blade stroke with the contours of the squash (not as necessary with the top part as with the bulb part). it ends up with ~1.5-in wide strips of hard skin. do the same for the bulb part but with more contour. maybe six-eight slices around? perhaps i should make a youtube video of it!
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