butternut squash « (y)our food choices™

Butternut squash is in season and we’re excited to bring it back into rotation in our kitchen. This year we kick things off with a soup made from a purée of this versatile, sweet, nutty, autumn fruit. The squash is easy enough to prepare, requiring little more than cutting, scooping seeds, and cooking (boil or bake). We love how easy butternut squash is to prepare. Never mind that it’s full of vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and lots of antioxidants and micronutrients.

Butternut squash is so full of rich flavor that it doesn’t require much embellishment to make a delicious soup. We like to roast it first to caramelize the sugars a bit. The roasted squash is then ready to be eaten as is, blended with roasted onions into stock, and then seasoned with salt and pepper. If you like to experiment with flavors, you can always add herbs and spices to the base soup. Sweet spices like nutmeg, cinnamon and clove are classic American holiday flavors. If you’re looking for something a little different, butternut squash, like pumpkin, loves curry. Or make it more Mediterranean by stirring in a little basil pesto. Believe us, the soup can take it.

We enrich this iteration of butternut squash soup with sweet unsalted butter, a dollop of sour cream, and a drizzle of sage scented olive oil. Toasted pumpkin seeds, fried sage leaves, and a dash of Tabasco add gild to the proverbial lily, but the hearty squash makes for a perfect backdrop to rich flavors. With a fistful of warm, crusty bread, a hot bowl of this butternut squash soup leaves you full and happy!

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Butternut Squash Soup

1 butternut squash
1 medium onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups broth, chicken or veggie
salt and pepper
soy sauce
4-6 tablespoons butter

Special equipment: immersion blender or upright blender

Preheat oven to 450 degree. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.

Trim the ends off of the butternut squash and cut vertically in half splitting the firm flesh into two rounds pieces – the stem end and the seeded end. Stand each of those halfs on end and cut vertically in half. Spoon out the seeds. Set the butternut squash on the baking sheet, cut-side down.

Peel and quarter the onion and place it on the baking sheet. Drizzle about 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil over the flesh of the squash and the quartered onion.

Place the baking sheet in the oven and roast for about 30 minutes. Turn the onion pieces over and continue to roast for another 10-20 minutes, or until the squash is tender and the cut flesh is slightly toasted and there’s a slight char on the onion. Remove from the oven and cool until the squash can be easily handled, 15-30 minutes.

Warm the broth in a large pot.

Once the onions and butternut squash are cool enough to handle, peel the squash using a knife. Some of the flesh may stick, and it’s OK. A little skin in the soup is easy enough to blend. Add the onions and the squash to the broth. Add a good pinch of salt and pepper.

Using the immersion blender, blend squash, onions, and broth, until you get a smooth purée. Once smooth, season to taste with salt, pepper, and a little soy sauce.

With the immersion blender running, add one tablespoon of the softened butter at a time until each tablespoon is fully incorporated into the soup. Continue one by one for the next 4-6 tablespoons, or until the soup reaches your preferred richness.

Seasoned simply with salt, hummus really is the sort of thing we can all whip up at a moments notice since the pantry staples used are common and relatively inexpensive. Never mind that blending it up is a snap. And because the chickpeas, the primary ingredients of this dip, happen to be packed with fiber and protein and are naturally low in fat, hummus can be enjoyed as an everyday food, fit for foodies and fast-food junkies alike.

Our pantry is stocked with a mix of chickpeas (garbanzos) canned and dried, which we add to soups, pasta dishes, and veggie hashes. Puréed with tahini and garlic (fresh or roasted), chickpeas become thick, creamy hummus, perfect as a dip for toasted pita and raw veggies. The tahini adds richness in the form of sesame oil. The garlic, when raw, adds flavor and heat, depending on how much of it you use. And when the garlic is roasted the unami flavor is at it’s peak! Toasted cumin, while not traditional, lends an earthy depth of flavor to hummus, while the lemon juice brightens it.

You can imagine, given its texture and mild neutral flavor, that puréed chickpea mixes well with other flavors. Here, we’ve gone in a couple of different directions. In one batch, we added puréed butternut squash to the hummus and topped it all with sage-infused olive oil and toasted pumpkin seeds. In the second batch, we added roasted eggplant and freshly ground cumin seeds. Any type of roasted or cooked vegetable can be pureed and added to hummus. It’s a great way to sneak in some extra nutrition while adding a unique spin on a traditional middle eastern classic.

We’re already planning our next batch of hummus. Using roasted pureed beets which will add sweetness and dramatic color to the dip as well as an earthy, vegetal taste. It will be the perfect thing to contribute to a Labor day get together.

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Roasted Butternut Squash Hummus

2 cups cooked chickpeas in water (canned ok, homemade preferred)
2 cups roasted butternut squash
5 cloves roasted garlic
1/2 cup tahini
1 tablespoon cumin seeds, freshly ground
4 tablespoons olive oil
8-10 sage leaves
1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
salt & pepper

Drain the chickpeas, reserving the water. Add them to a food processor along with the squash, tahini, ground cumin, salt and pepper. Pulse a few times then process for a minute or two until a smoothish consistency, adding two tablespoons olive oil through the feeding tube during the process. If the hummus is too thick, add a little of the reserved bean water. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat the other two tablespoons olive oil in a small sauce pan until hot. Add the sage leaves a few at a time, cooking until the leaves are fried, anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute or two, depending on the size of the sage leaves. Drain the leaves on a paper towel and set aside to cool. Allow oil to cool.

Once the leaves are cool, set aside a few of the nicest leaves for garnish and then crumble the rest into the hummus and pulse a few more times. Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer the hummus into a serving bowl and top with the reserved fried sage leaves and sage oil. Sprinkle on toasted pumpkin seeds.

Serve with toasted pita chips.

Roasted Eggplant Hummus

2 cups cooked chickpeas in water (canned ok, homemade preferred)
2 cups roasted eggplant
5 cloves roasted garlic
1/2 cup tahini
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon cumin seeds, freshly ground
salt & pepper

Drain the chickpeas, reserving the water. Add them to a food processor along with the roasted eggplant, tahini, ground cumin, salt and pepper. Pulse a few times then process for a minute or two until a smoothish consistency, adding the olive oil through the feeding tube during the process. If the hummus is too thick, add a little of the reserved bean water. Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer the hummus to a serving bowl and top with a little more ground cumin, and a drizzle of olive oil.

Serve with toasted pita chips.