Hot Like Ebola!!!: For All My Veg Friends

Here! Try this soup! It tastes very, very good. It is also very garlicky. If the strong taste and smell of garlic is not your idea of a good time, use less. This is adapted from a recipe out of "Williams-Sonoma Collection: Soup". Our supermarket didn't have leeks (?!?!?) so I used an onion instead. Also, white pepper is frickin expensive, so I used regular pepper. Who cares about black flecks, anyway?

Butternut Squash and Roasted Garlic Puree

1 large or 2 small butternut squash, about 4 lb total weight
20 cloves of garlic, peeled and with root end trimmed off
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2-1 cup water
2 leeks (white and tender green parts), finely chopped
OR 1 medium yellow onion, diced
5 cups vegetable stock
salt and freshly ground (white or black) pepper
Chopped chives or fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut squash in half along the length, remove seeds and fibers. Peel and cut into slices 1 inch thick.

Combine squash and garlic in roasting pan, toss with 2 tbsp olive oil. Pour in water so it covers the bottom of pan.

Roast, stirring occasionally, until squash and garlic are soft and golden, 50-60 minutes. Add more water if squash is scorching. Remove from oven and set aside.

While squash is roasting, in a heavy frying pan (trusty cast iron for me) over medium heat, warm remaining 2 tbsp olive oil. Saute leeks or onions until golden brown, 10-15 minutes. Set aside.

In a blender (I used a food processor), in batches, combine squash, garlic, leeks or onion, and 1 cup of stock. Puree until very smooth, 1 minute. When you notice that it still isn't "very smooth", it's okay to decide to have slightly chunky soup.

Transfer puree to a large saucepan. Stir in remaining 4 cups stock and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with chives or parsley and serve.

*Note: If there is anything un-vegan friendly, let me know! I think it tastes great, especially when you buy a fresh big butternut straight from the orchard!

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 9:28 PM
id="comments">6 Comments:

This sounds absolutely perfect. I'm going to try it.

Running2Ks, at 10:14 PM

Running2ks, I strongly recommend adding paprika (sweet or spicy) and cayenne to the recipe, to balance out the onion. Also, I think leeks might work better for the same reason.

Jenevieve, at 11:00 PM

And Allison, I respond equally well to J, Jen, Jeni, Jenevieve, Jennabee, J to the Izzo, J. Bo., Mrs. Price, jaje, or Jen-Ay. Just don't pronounce my name Jon-vee-ev, or call me stephanie, and we'll be ok.

Jenevieve, at 11:02 PM

Thanks for the tip. I love leeks.

Running2Ks, at 2:52 PM

Yum- sounds great. I love fall because you can never have too many warm soups like this one.