Food for Thought with Suzanne Dunaway

Butternut squash soup

I was asked to make a soup for our Jardin Denat in Collioure get-together, enough for a dozen visitors, but I made more, knowing that a hot soup in a chilly garden would warm the cockles.  The squash grown in this amazing garden were like no butternuts I had ever tasted, rich and golden with an amazing nutty flavor and lovely silky texture when whizzed into the soup, but I know that the ones now in our open markets are very tasty.

This soup is great for holiday gatherings and starts off any meal with a comforting warmth during the holidays  We are thankful for butternut squash and for our beautiful organic permaculture garden started by expert gardener, Maryline Buckingham, in Collioure. Every day in that garden is a Thanksgiving…Merci, butternut beauties!

Recipe

The trick is to stick the squash with a knife a couple of times (that’s not easily done either) and microwave the very hard squash for about 5-10 minutes. The skin becomes soft and the butternut can easily be cut in two, de-seeded and roasted in a moderate oven until soft, about 30 minutes, depending on the size.

And then mama does this…

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 sweet onions, chopped coarse
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• All of the soft oven-roasted squash
• Chicken or vegetable broth, enough to cover
• Squeeze of lemon or lime
• Grate of fresh ginger
• Salt and pepper
• A spoon of butter

Method

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil, add the onions and garlic and cook until soft. Add the squash, the broth to cover and simmer until the marriage is consummated, about 30 minutes.

Add the lime, ginger, salt and pepper and stir in the butter. Taste for seasoning. The soup should be balanced but enough lime to create interest.

Whiz everything up with a hand mixer until very smooth … 

and serve hot, sprinkling a little chopped basil or cilantro or pinch of ground espelette over each bowl.

All content and recipes are copyright of Suzanne Dunaway.