- Years ago, when I was hoping to gain more confidence in the kitchen, and had too many cookbooks that had hardly used, I made the decision to work on improving one style of meal–over the course of a year.
- This was for a couple of reasons. I had a lot of learning to do. Basically, I really only liked to bake desserts. And with four kids, I really needed to enjoy preparing meals, not just desserts. I also knew that if I gave myself a year, that was much more freeing to me than in the next couple of weeks. It also meant I didn’t have to fix soup every night of the week to reach my goal.
- A couple of other random thoughts/notes… I was on a tight budget. I also wanted to avoid processed food as much as possible. And I really, really like good tasting food.
So, all that to say, one year I focused on soups. I started by learning how to make a soup base. I relied on “How To Eat Supper” often to get me started.
Fast forward to present day, and soup, along with homemade bread, are two of my favorite things to make. Now getting everyone in my house to give it a try? Well, sometimes I still prepare foods knowing that I’m going to be the only one eating most of it. And when it comes to soup, I’m always good with that. I have to add, my family likes spicy. So. last time I prepared this soup, my son tried it, and approved. And now I have someone else to share the soup (and bread) with.
ingredients
- 4 medium squash (I used acorn, yellow summer and Delicata squash)
- Olive Oil
- Butter
- 1 onion, sliced
- 2 Serrano Peppers
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- dry white wine
- vegetable or chicken stock
- freshly ground salt and pepper
- crushed red pepper
- paprika
optional: - heavy cream or coconut milk
- additional olive oil
instructions
Begin with roasting the sliced squash and peppers. To save from additional dishes, I’ll pour a swig of olive oil and and grind some fresh salt and pepper to the baking sheet, and then I make sure that all the veg is coated. Bake at 400° F. For the acorn squash, I bake roughly 35-40 min, for the rest, 20-25 minutes. Depends on on thick your slices are. After removing from oven, peel the acorn squash. I use the seeds* and all of the Delicata squash) {More instructions for roasting acorn squash can be found at this blog post. Regarding the peppers. If you (or your crew does not enjoy much spicy heat, deseed the peppers. Otherwise, include them. Do wash your hands well after working with any type of spicy pepper.
After your squash and peppers are out of the oven. Using a large, heavy bottomed pot, add 1-2 Tbls. butter to pan, and melt. Once melted, add the minced garlic. Stir until just turning brown. If the bottom of the pot seems to be getting dry, add some olive oil to coat. Add the onion, and sauté for 3-5-minutes, until golden and soft. Pour in the white wine (the bottom of the pot should now be covered). Allow the wine to cook off until it is completely reduced. Add the vegetable or chicken stalk , and the roasted squash, and the crushed red pepper. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once the soup is boiling, turn it down to a simmer. At this point you can add your peppers.
Cook for 10-15 minutes more, until everything appears soft. Turn off the heat. Allow to cool a bit. If you have an emersion blender, go ahead and blend up, right in the pot. If you do not, wait until the soup has cooled, and then blend in your blender in batches. Now, take a taste a notice what your soup still needs. Maybe a bit more sea salt or freshly ground pepper? You can also add some paprika (to taste).
When ready to serve, poor into bowls. Option to drizzle a little olive oil or heavy cream over the top.
Serve and enjoy!
