Thursday, November 17, 2011

Butternut Squash Soup

I promised you a fabulous Butternut Squash Soup a few weeks ago when I pureed a five-pounder for my son's baby food.  Well, better late than never!  This soup is amazing!  It pairs perfectly with a crisp salad and apple cinnamon muffins (in fact, that is exactly what we're having for dinner tonight) and is equally as good as a starter to a multi-course dinner.

2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 piece (2 inches) fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 3/4 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded (reserve the seeds!), and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
sour cream
spicy pumpkin (or squash) seeds (recipe follows)

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Add the ginger, garlic, and squash; cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, 6-8 minutes.  Stir in 4 cups water and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer until squash is tender, about 20 minutes.

Puree the soup in either a food processor or a blender in two batches.  Be careful if using a blender since hot liquids expand!  Pour the pureed soup back into the saucepan.  Add the orange juice and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt.  Serve hot, with sour cream, pepper, and pumpkin seeds.

For the pumpkin seeds:
1 cup raw green pumpkin seeds (or, simply use the seeds from the squash you just cut up)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

Clean, rinse, and dry the seeds.  Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.  Spread on a rimmed baking sheet.  Bake at 350 until puffed and browned, about 10 minutes.



5 comments:

  1. Sounds wonderful! Thanks for linking up at A Little Nosh this week!

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  2. I love the idea of adding lime and cayenne to the seeds! to up the creaminess, sometimes I add coconut milk to mine. I love food like this during cold, rainy weather.

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  3. This sounds tasty. I'm intrigued by the orange juice. I have some delicata squash, which supposedly taste somewhat like butternut, so I'll be making this soon.

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  4. The orange juice and ginger combo sounds amazing, I can't wait to try this! I think I'd probably replace some of the water with chicken or veg stock, but other than that it sounds divine!
    Thanks for sharing this with Sunday Night Soup Night, look forward to seeing you next time!

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  5. I tweeted this soup as one of my favs from Sunday Night Soup Night!

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