Weekly Dish

This soup is so simple, but really satisfying too. The sweetness of the squash, enhanced by the cane syrup and basalmic vinegar in the roasting process, provides the main flavor for the soup, but the subtle savory depth of the carrot and onion mellows the sweetness a good bit. I use a sweet onion so that the contrast is not too stark, add a dollop of mascarpone cheese for texture and creaminess, and sprinkle the bowl liberally with fresh nutmeg. Homemade chicken stock provides a richer flavor, but canned broth works too.

This recipe is designed to use up leftover squash, but other roast vegetables would work too, especially in combination. The wonderful thing about soup is that it’s a pretty forgiving medium. You’d rather use celery than carrot? Fine. Don’t have mascarpone cheese? No big deal. Want to add sweet potatoes? Go right ahead! My favorite thing about this soup recipe is that it makes use of what I have and allows me to play with the flavor combinations already at work with a minimum amount of time and effort. To have dinner on the table, the only thing I had to do was chop and saute the carrot and onion, add the rest of the ingredients and let them simmer, and throw together a salad. What’s even better is that the soup could be made early in the day, or even the day before, and then just warmed up later.

You’ll probably be seeing more meals like this one from me in the coming months–starting Tuesday, I have class three nights a week. If dinner’s going to be made, it will have to be done in the daylight hours. Yikes!

Roasted Squash Soup

2 carrots, peeled and chopped finely
1/2 sweet yellow onion, chopped finely
Olive oil, about 2 tablespoons
Salt and pepper
3-4 cups chicken stock
1-2 cups roasted squash puree
1/4 cup milk
Dollops of mascarpone cheese, creme fraiche, or sour cream (optional)
Grated fresh nutmeg

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium. Add the carrots and onions, cooking slowly until they become very tender and the onion begins to turn a little golden, but not brown. Salt and pepper. Add the chicken stock (I start with 3 cups and thin later if need be), and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer, and add the squash puree, stirring vigorously until it is blended into the liquid. Let that simmer for a bit (20 minutes? 45 minutes? Just be careful that it isn’t boiling or you’ll lose all of your liquid). Check the consistency. Would you like it thinner? Add more stock. You can also puree it at this point, if you don’t like vegetable chunks in your soup. We do, so I leave them. Add the milk (or half and half) and allow the soup to cook for a few more minutes. Taste and adjust salt if necessary. Serve with a dollop of mascarpone, creme fraiche, or sour cream, and a liberal grating of fresh nutmeg. I also topped mine with toasted Parmesan left from our fish and pasta on Monday. What did I tell you about using up leftovers? I LOVE IT. But croutons would work just as well. Especially if you already have some in your fridge!

Posted: Friday, January 13th, 2006 at 7:37 am Filed under: Main Dish, Vegetables, Soup, Comfort Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.