The
Corvallis Carrot Organic Meal Prep
The
Corvallis Carrot Organic Meal Prep
BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP
INGREDIENTS:
1 small Butternut Squash (roughly 3 lb)
3-4 c broth (chicken or vegetable)
4 T olive oil
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
2 cloves garlic
3 sage leaves
1 sprig of rosemary (split in half)
1 T fines herbes*
1/2 yellow onion
1/3 c plain yogurt
(Do not add yogurt if making baby food and your family has history of food allergies.)
yield: 4 servings
Preheat oven to 440
Total time: 1 hr
I first introduced this soup to my daughter when she was 4 months old and it's been one of her favorites ever since. Baby food does not have to be flavorless, or complicated. This soup is smooth and tastes great with rosemary crackers (pictured) or fresh croutons, to keep it simple you can also just pair it with some hearty bread that's been toasted.
If you have homemade chicken or vegetable broth, use it. You want to avoid tomato based broths, because the tomato flavor will sometimes compete with the butternut squash. To keep it really simple, also if you're on a super tight budget, use water. If you do use water, throw in a bay leaf and maybe another garlic clove to give it some more flavor.
Cut the squash in quarters and scoop out the seeds. You can rinse them off and roast them with a little salt, they make a great little snack.
In each of the bowls, put 1 T of oil.
Cut the top of the squash in half one more time, this will help in cooking them faster.
Place 1 garlic clove in the bowl.
On top of the garlic, place a sage leave and half a rosemary sprig.
Slice your onion, about a 1/4 inch thick, and add to the pan.
Keeping garlic and herbs inside, flip the bowls over, this will create steam within the bowl, cooking the garlic and infusing the flavors of the herbs into the squash.
Spinkle with salt and pepper. Put in 440 oven for 50 minutes.
As your squash cooks in the oven, start simmering your broth, with dry herbs, on low heat. You want to give the herbs enough time to release all of their flavor. I start with 3 c of broth and then if the soup seems a little thick after I've pureed it I add more, 1/4 c at a time, until the consistency is right.
When your timer goes off, pull out your squash.
Don't worry if your onions are a little burnt. Flip over the bowls (be careful for any steam) and disregard the rosemary sprigs. I like to puree the sage with the soup.
Scrape out the butternut squash from the skin. I like to hold the squash with a pair of tongs and use a spoon to scoop.
With the exception of the skin and rosemary, add everything to the broth.
Puree with a hand blender. You can also just let this simmer for a while if you want a chunkier soup.
You may need to adjust the soup by adding more salt or pepper, also if it seems a little too thick you can thin it out with more broth or a little water.
Add the yogurt and puree one last time. The soup will be very smooth. If you are making this for a baby, you can transfer to ice cube trays and freeze for single servings.
I cut up 1 sage leaf and used it for garnish. Enjoy.
