Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

I finally found the perfect way to eat butternut squash.

I had a perfect squash sitting on my sideboard for more than a month. I bought it in the height of autumn, in the frenzy of pumpkin, scarves, furry boots and butternut squash. I bought it even though I knew that as far as squashes go, it's really not my favorite. Actually, I don't like squash much at all except for kabocha no nimono. So there it sat, through the unchanging greenery of the trees (thank you SoCal), a hot and sunny Christmas, and a watery first week of January. The recent and welcome deluge brought it to the forefront of my mind again, as I craved autumnal and wintery tastes, and a warm and cozy bowl of soup.

A straight puree of butternut squash did not sound appealing, but the deep and rich flavors of a roasted squash sounded delightful.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients
1 three-pound butternut squash
1 large onion
1 head of garlic (Or less, depending on your taste or what's available. But if you like garlic even just a little bit, do the whole head. Trust me.)
2-4 cups stock
salt & pepper
1-2 tablespoons cream (or more, to taste)

Instructions
If you're making this in advance: Preheat oven to 350°F. Roughly mince your garlic. Cut butternut squash in half; remove seeds. Cut onion into chunks. Toss onions with the garlic, salt, pepper and oil/butter. Put squash on roasting pan, cut-side up. Rub generously with oil or butter, then season with salt and pepper. On the same roasting pan, put the onions onto a square of aluminum foil with the sides crimped up to make a shallow bowl. Or, put them into a separate casserole/oven-safe dish. You just want to make sure to catch the juices. Bake at 350°F for 1.5 hours or until fairly soft and carmelized-looking. Poke the squash in the thickest parts to ensure even cooking. Once it's finished, remove and let cool. Refrigerate the squash halves and onions for up to 3 days. When you're ready to make the soup, scoop the flesh of the butternut squash out.

If you're not making this in advance: Seed, peel and cut the butternut squash into 2 inch chunks. Toss with onions, garlic, salt, pepper and oil/butter. Add to roasting pan and pour about 1 cup of stock (depending on the depth of your pan) over it. Bake at 350°F for 1.5 hours or until fairly soft and carmelized-looking.

Add squash to a large pot, along with the roasted onions and garlic. Add at least 2 cups of stock or more--enough to cover the squash and onions. Cook for about 20 minutes over medium-low heat, or until the squash begins to fall apart.

Remove from heat, and puree using a hand blender or a regular blender in batches. Once pureed, add back to pot and add cream/butter. If you like your soup on the thinner side, add more stock until you reach desired consistency. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with pine nuts and goat cheese, or just sip it straight out of the ladle from the pot because it's that good.

Original roasted butternut squash recipe from Serious Eats

Creamy potato and leek soup

Missing front tooth.

Braces.

What am I, like twelve?

My tongue is rubbed absolutely raw on one side from the metal bracket on my molar. This means that even swallowing is painful, since my tongue does this inadvertent bobbing motion whenever I swallow. I imagine everyone's tongue does it, you just don't notice it until you start bleeding because of it. Both sides of molars are still sore from the spacers they put in some three weeks back, so chewing is pretty much out. Suffice to say, I'm on a soup binge this week. And probably next week.

I've always wanted to make potato and leek soup. I love the simplicity and the heartiness of it. Potatoes and leeks! So much flavor from two ingredients.

This is a recipe I lifted (almost) directly from my newly discovered How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman. It's everything I've dreamed of and more. Just like this potato and leek soup recipe.

Creamy Potato and Leek Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
3 medium potatoes, any type, peeled and cut into small cubes (the smaller, the quicker this'll be ready)
2-3 leeks, white and light green parts only, well washed and sliced into thin rings (Trader Joe's package of 2 leeks are perfect for this)
salt and black pepper
1 tsp white pepper (optional, but great if you have it)
4 cups vegetable stock, warm
1/2 to 1 cup of cream, sour cream or yogurt
chives, for garnish (or parsley, basil, chervil, etc)

Instructions
Heat the butter in a large, deep pot over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the leeks and potatoes. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper (and white pepper if using) and stir, cooking for 2-3 minutes.

Add the warm vegetable stock and cook until the potatoes and leeks are very tender, about 20 minutes.

Remove from heat. Using an immersion blender or regular blender in batches, blend the soup until thoroughly pureed. Stir in the cream/sour cream/yogurt. If you're using yogurt, don't let it boil. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with minced chives.

Variations
If you want vichyssoise, cool the soup completely and garnish with chives just before serving.

Vegan vichyssoise: Use oil instead of butter. After you've pureed the soup, let the soup cool a bit, then stir in coarsely chopped ripe flesh of 1-2 avocadoes instead of the cream. Chill thoroughly before garnishing.

Cook about 1 cup of shredded carrots or cabbage along with potatoes and leeks. Increase stock proportionately so the soup doesn't become too thick.

Grate a little parmesan over the finished soup.

Add another vegetable in place of a portion of the potatoes (Bittman recommends asparagus or peas).