The Crisper Whisperer: Gingered Butternut Soup
Note: You may know Carolyn Cope as Umami Girl. She stops by on Tuesdays to help us cook through seasonal surplus with ease.
I'll be honest. I was a little hesitant to post a butternut squash soup recipe this week. You all are pretty sophisticated eaters, and there's a fair amount of puréed butternut sloshing around in the world every fall already. It's not like I'm going to convince anyone I invented butternut soup. It's no hairy gourd bread, I'll tell you that much.
It's creamy. It's vegan. As its mom would say, it has a lot going for it.
But then I had a few of those days last week where the sky feels like it's cracking into giant, ugly shards and throwing them like javelins at your shoulders. And boy was I glad to have a pot of this soup in the fridge. I'd tell you how many bowls of it I've eaten in the past seven days and how many people I've shared it with, but trust me, it wouldn't leave a very ladylike impression. Let's just say it's a good thing for my karma that I'm sharing the recipe. Here's hoping the sky is listening.
Gingered Butternut Soup
- serves 4 to 6 -
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, large dice
2 large stalks celery, large dice
2 large carrots, large dice
2 large boiling potatoes, peeled, large dice
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and seeded, large dice
2 medium apples, peeled and cored, large dice
1 two-inch piece ginger, peeled and grated with a rasp over a bowl to catch any juice
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
A few slices red chili
6 cups veggie stock, chicken stock or water*
Salt and pepper to taste
Lime wedges for serving
*If using water or unsalted stock, add one teaspoon of salt
Procedure
1. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and carrots along with a good pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to soften. Add the potatoes, squash, apples, ginger, garlic and chili and cook, stirring occasionally, for five minutes more.
2. Add the stock or water along with a few good grinds of black pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat, then cover and reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until all the vegetables are very tender, 20 minutes or more depending on the size of your dice.
3. Remove from the heat and carefully purée with an immersion blender, or in batches in a regular blender, until very smooth. If you want a completely smooth soup, pass it through a fine-mesh strainer. Serve hot, garnished with lime wedges.
About the author: Carolyn Cope writes Umami Girl and manages a CSA in Hoboken, New Jersey.
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6 Comments:
I love the apples in this. I must say though, it's not too far from my favorite carrot ginger soup, which has coconut milk and, oddly enough, peanut butter. It is so, sooo good.
I also find it makes for a better texture (and easier prep) to simply whack the ginger with the flat of your knife (like garlic). Throw it in the pot to simmer, and remove before pureeing. You still get all the flavor steeped into the broth without the weird grainy texture of grated ginger or the grassy shreds of pureed whole ginger.
meleyna at 10:35AM on 10/20/09
this recipe is getting made. i usually spice my squash soup with curry but i could use a change.
ps. @meleyna: thank you so much! definitely remembering that trick too.
katrina at 8:36PM on 10/20/09
Try roasting the squash first for more intense flavour. I used to add potato but found it diluted the squash taste so it was too bland - try leaving it out and increasing the squash quantity!
My fave though is using Thai Red Curry paste (vegan ones are best) and coconut milk. Fry a tablespoon or so (depends how spicy the paste and how brave your palette) of the curry paste until fragrant, after the onions have softened but before you add the squash. Use as much coconut milk as you wish (depending on how rich you want it to be), reducing the amount of stock accordingly. A kaffir lime leaf added while the vegetables cook (removed prior to blending) increases the depth of flavour too.
jobeth at 9:08PM on 10/21/09
Here's my latest:
http://onepot.wordpress.com/2009/10/21/butternut-squash-leek-soup/
Onepot at 9:42PM on 10/21/09
I love butternut squash soup and this recipe looks amazing with the ginger and apples in it; but I can't eat garlic and most butternut squash soups call for it - a lot of it! What do you recommend I substitute in its place? I always do shallots but wondering if you have other suggestions.
awoodard at 9:21AM on 10/26/09
@awoodard I think you could simply leave it out of this recipe. Especially since you're used to forgoing garlic, I doubt you'd really miss it here.
Carolyn Cope at 9:21PM on 10/26/09