Curried Winter Squash Soup
Farmer John’s Cookbook, John Peterson
Serves 6-8
- 3 T unsalted butter
- 1 cup chopped scallions (about 6)
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 jalapeno, seeded, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 pounds butternut squash, about ½ a large squash, peeled, seeded, cubed
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 14 ounce can whole tomatoes or 2 cups peeled, chopped fresh tomatoes
- 12 whole curry leaves (optional)
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground mace (I skipped this)
- pinch freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- salt
- freshly ground pepper
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the scallions; sauté until soft and wilted, about 3 minutes. Stir in the parsley, jalapeno, and garlic,; cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
Add the squash and toss to coat it with the scallion mixture. Add the stock, tomatoes, curry leaves, all spice, mace and nutmeg. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer, covered until the squash is very tender, about 45 minutes. Let cool slightly.
Transfer the soup in batches to a blender or food processor; puree.
Transfer the soup back to the pot. Stir in the curry powder and add salt, pepper to taste. Return the soup to a simmer to heat through. Garnish with the parsley just before serving.
BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP WITH STAR ANISE AND GINGER SHRIMP
24 large shrimp in shell (about 1 lb), peeled, leaving tail and first segment of shell intact, and deveined
1 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger
2/3 cup chopped shallot
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
3 whole star anise
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 3/4 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (5 cups)
4 cups chicken stock or broth
2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Garnish: fresh cilantro sprigs
Toss shrimp with ginger in a bowl and marinate, chilled, 30 minutes (do not marinate any longer or enzymes from ginger will begin to cook shrimp).
Make soup while shrimp marinate:
Cook shallot, garlic, and anise in butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until shallot is softened, about 5 minutes. Add squash, stock, and water and simmer, uncovered, until squash is very tender, about 20 minutes. Remove star anise.
Purée soup in 2 batches in a blender (use caution when blending hot liquids) until very smooth, about 1 minute per batch, then transfer to cleaned pan and keep warm, covered.
Sprinkle marinated shrimp with salt. Heat oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté shrimp in 2 batches, stirring, until just cooked through, about 3 minutes per batch, transferring to paper towels.
Bring soup to a simmer and season with salt and pepper. Divide among 8 shallow soup bowls and mound 3 shrimp in each bowl.
Cooks’ note:
. Soup (without shrimp) can be made 3 days ahead and chilled, covered. If making soup ahead, begin marinating shrimp about 40 minutes before serving.
Gourmet
December 2002
DELICATA SQUASH WITH ROSEMARY, SAGE, AND CIDER GLAZE
This is my favorite way to cook winter squash. You peel, and slice it, then cook it in a skillet with cider and
winter herbs. When most of the liquid boils away, the cider forms a tart-sweet glaze around the now-tender squash.
Delicata is a wonderfully firm-textured squash that’s not too sweet and almost like a potato. Other varieties like
acorn, turban, or kabocha will make good substitutes, but they may not hold their shape quite as well through the
braising.
2 medium delicata squash (about 2 pounds) or other firm
winter squash
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup very coarsely chopped fresh sage
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
1 1/2 cups fresh unfiltered apple cider or juice
1 cup water
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Squash. If using delicata squash, peel it with a vegetable peeler, cut it lengthwise in half, and scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Cut each piece lengthwise in half again, then crosswise into 1/2-inch -thick slices. Other types of squash should be peeled with a chef’s knife, seeded, cut into 1-inch wedges, then sliced 1/2-inch thick.
2. Herb Butter. Melt the butter in a large (12-inch) skillet over low heat. Add the sage and rosemary and cook,
stirring, until the butter just begins to turn golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Do not brown the herbs. Cooking the herbs in butter mellows their flavor and improves their texture.
3. Cooking the squash. Add the squash to the skillet, then the apple cider, water, vinegar, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat at an even boil until the cider has boiled down to a glaze and the squash is tender,
20 to 30 minutes. Taste and season with pepper, and additional salt if needed.
Makes 6 servings.
Roasted Winter Roots with Whole Garlic Heads
From The San Francisco Chronicle Cookbook
All vegetables may be cooked in the oven at the same time. The heads
of garlic, roasted alongside the vegetables, become a self-contained
spread that is delicious on country-style bread. Be sure to allow one
garlic head for each person.
4 carrots, about ½ pound total
2 parsnips, about ½ pound total
2 turnips, about 1 pound total
1 rutabaga, about 1 pound
2 yellow onions, about ¾ pound total
3 russet potatoes, about 1 ¾ pounds total
4 heads of garlic, about ½ pound total
1/3 C olive oil
1 ½ tsps salt
1Tbles freshly ground pepper
4 fresh thyme sprigs, or 1 tsp dried
4 fresh rosemary sprigs, or 1 tsp dried
4 fresh sage sprigs, or 1 tsp dried
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Peel the carrots, parsnips, turnips and rutabaga. Cut the
carrots into 2 inch lengths. Halve the parsnips crosswise, separating
the tapering root end from the thick upper portion. Cut the upper
portion lengthwise into 2 pieces. Quarter the turnips and rutabaga.
Peel the onions but do not cut off the root ends. Quarter the onions
lengthwise.
Scrub the potatoes and cut them lengthwise into quarters, then
in half. Cut off the upper quarter of the garlic heads, leaving the
heads intact, skin and all.
Combine half of the olive oil, the salt, pepper, thyme,
rosemary and sage in a large bowl. Add all of the vegetables,
including the garlic. Stir them until they are well coated with the
seasoned oil.
Arrange the vegetables in a single layer on 2 baking sheets.
Roast for 30 minutes. Stir the vegetables and baste with some of the
remaining olive oil. Continue roasting, stirring once or twice and
basting with olive oil, for 30 to 45 minutes longer, or until all the
vegetables are tender and are easily pierced with a fork. Remove from
the oven and transfer to a platter.
Serve hot or at room temperature. Serves 4