For my birthday, Mom got me a kitchen appliance that I’ve really been wanting – an immersion blender! I bought a butternut squash about a week and a half ago, and I’ve been waiting to make butternut squash soup ever since. As usual, I was up at 7:30, and I didn’t have much to do – I didn’t want to ride in 30-degree weather, really – so I started making the soup. I took a base recipe and heavily amended it.
I started out by cutting the squash in half and roasting it for 45 minutes face-down in the oven. I love the smell of roasting squash and pumpkin…it’s so earthy and rooty smelling. Admittedly, when I just described it, it doesn’t sound like it would smell very good…but it did!
After the squash was done and it was cooling, I sauteed some onions and garlic in butter. Always, always, always has been and will be in my top five favorite things to smell cooking. Then I added a roughly chopped apple and a diced carrot.
Then I added some broth and brought the mix to a boil, then let it simmer for a while. Meanwhile, I scooped the “cooled” squash out of its skin.
I say “cooled” because I didn’t let it sit long enough, and if you could see my face you’d notice it’s twisted in a bit of pain. That squash was still hot hot hot!
By this point, the mixture had boiled long enough to soften the carrots and apples, so I threw the cooked squash in.
And then I got to play with my new kitchen toy! I’ve never used one of these before, but I have heard that the one thing you don’t want to do is take the blender out while the blade is still spinning, lest you throw soup all over the kitchen. Nevertheless, I moved my computer to the far side of the kitchen, just in case I screwed up, which I figured I would.
Well, the stuff seemed to be blending, and I wasn’t making a mess, so I kept going. Eventually, the mix turned into a pretty, creamy soup. Amazing that tiny blade can mash everything up so well!
I added a little half-and-half and took the soup off the stove, and voila! My first butternut squash soup. Enough to last for a week, too…P doesn’t really favor it, so it’s all for me!
Butternut squash soup
1 butternut squash, about 2 pounds
1 TB olive oil
1 TB butter
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 apple, peeled/cored/roughly chopped
3 cups stock (I only had chicken, but veggie would work too)
salt/pepper to taste
half-and-half for consistency
Start by cutting the squash in half and spooning out the seeds and innards. Roast face-down for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. When done, let cool.
While the squash is cooling, saute the onion and garlic in the oil and butter until soft. Add carrots, apples, and stock, as well as salt and pepper; bring to a boil, then let simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until carrots are tender.
Meanwhile, scoop the cooked squash out of the skins. When carrots are tender, add the squash to the mixture. Puree everything with a handy immersion blender if you have it (if not, mix in a countertop blender in batches). Add half-and-half to desired creaminess and consistency.
Tags: Comfort food, Meatless, Soup
November 29, 2009 at 4:25 pm |
I used to have an immersion blender and never used it. I then gave it away and have since wished I still had it. One day I’ll get another.
December 3, 2009 at 10:24 pm |
if you get one, look into one like mine – it has a few different attachments! in addition to the immersion blender, it also has a food processor and a whisk attachment (i don’t know how this is much different than my hand-mixer whisk, though….). i was really excited to use the processor attachment in my latest post.