Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Roasted Butternut Squash - soup or cubes anyone?

Off late I've been roasting a variety of veggies.

Squash, Asparagus, Peppers, Eggplant (there is an awesome Indian dish called baingan bartha definitely blog worthy), sweet potatoes, grape tomatoes. And. So. On.

Of all I think I routinely roast squash the most simply because it brings out so much flavour - most out of all the cooking techniques I know. And it's really healthy too. And the applications are endless- once roasted, you can puree into a delicious soup, eat veggies as a side, or mixed with pasta.

[http://www.leftoverqueen.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/butternut_squash.jpg]

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

- 1 butternut squash
- 1 onion diced
- 1/2 tsp garlic
- olive oil
- Vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp butter
- milk or heavy cream

Just spray veggies with olive oil or drizzle some of the real stuff over them, season with salt, pepper and roast for a given time depending on the vegetable.


In the case of Butternut Squash, I season with (liberally) extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and some cayenne (Indian red chilli powder) to counter the sweetness, and roast at 400°F for about 40-45 minutes until edges start to get golden brown.




Let cool and then enjoy with a bowl of pasta or puree into a soup as follows--

Sautee 1 medium onion with a 1/2 tsp garlic.

Puree the squash and onion mixture with a cup of water or vegetable stock and transfer to a pot on stove. Season with 1/2 tsp dried oregano.

Add a 1/2 cup of milk or a bit of cream if your waistline permits. Finally add a tablespoon of butter to make the whole thing extra smooth and special. If it's still very thick, you can always thin it out with more water or stock.

Variation- To add protein and extra body to the dish, you could puree in about 1/2 cup of cooked white navy beans too.

End Result- It honestly does not need a garnish.


No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...