November 11, 2009
Dear Friends,
A nice twist on the perennial autumn Butternut squash soup, there's a jockeying of tart, savory, hot and sweet with the squash, tomatoes, vinegar, garlic and chile. Smoky ham could go into the mix if you'd like, but I vote to keep this all about what you can do with meat.
Make the soup with squash or sweet potato. The spicy chile-garlic topping sets off the whole dish. Use it whenever you want a bright finish — in stews, on grilled dishes and with other soups.
Butternut Skillet Soup with Fresh Chile
Serves 8 to 10
Cooking this soup in a big sauté pan saves time and intensifies flavors. Browning the onion gives the bold foundation you need with sweet ingredients like squash.
- 3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 medium to large onions, cut into 1/4-inch dice
- Salt and fresh-ground black pepper
- 8 large cloves garlic, minced
- 3 to 4 jalapeño chilies, seeded and minced, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/3 cup cider vinegar
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 14-ounce can whole tomatoes, crushed
- 2-1/2 to 3 pounds Butternut or Kabocha squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch chunks
- 8 to 10 cups low sodium chicken broth (College Inn is one of my favorites)
Topping:
- Grated peel of 1 large lime
- Juice of 2 limes
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup tightly-packed fresh coriander or basil leaves, torn
1. In a 12-inch sauté pan, heat the oil over medium high. Stir in the onion, salt and pepper. Sauté until golden. Stir in garlic, half the chiles and the thyme. Cook 30 seconds. Blend in vinegar, scraping up the brown glaze from the bottom of the pan. Boil down the vinegar until none remains in the pan. Add the wine and boil it down until none remains.
2. Blend in tomatoes. Cook 2 minutes. Add squash and broth. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium low heat. Cover and cook 30 minutes, or until squash is tender. Taste for seasoning. Cool a little, then puree half the soup in a blender.
3. Pour puree back into the pan. Set aside up to an hour at room temperature, or refrigerate up to four days.
4. Blend together the topping's lime peel, juice, reserved chile, and garlic. Just before serving stir in the herb leaves. Reheat soup to bubbling. Taste again for seasoning. Sprinkle topping on each serving.
LYNNE'S TIPS
This recipe is a good one to make ahead. It keeps in the refrigerator up to four days and can be frozen up to four months. Reheat as needed.
THOUGHTS FROM LYNNE
Yes, Thanksgiving will be here too soon, but no, you don't have to do everything the last minute. Here's a short cut to figuring out what you can do ahead and freeze. Using a half hour here and there could have you just about covered by Thanksgiving Eve.
Lynne's Do-Ahead Freezing Basics for Turkey Day
Do Freeze:
- Baked pumpkin, Butternut squash, and yam casseroles or merely the baked vegetable. The squashes could throw off a little water when defrosted, but that can be drained away. (Add pumpkin pie filling ingredients, or butter, or spices for side dishes a day ahead of finishing and refrigerate.)
- Breads — from biscuits to cornbread, to cranberry bread, whole wheat or zucchini
- Soups without cream or eggs
- Gravy
- Cranberry sauce and relishes
- Roasted hard root vegetables like parsnips, rutabaga, and turnips. (Heat through completely in a 325 degrees F oven.)
- Unbaked apple pies. Bake frozen, adding 20 minutes to the baking time. Yes, the bottom crust will be fine (or you could do a deep dish pie with no bottom crust). (One caution: Use only metal pie plates. Glass or china ones will crack in the oven if they go in cold.)
- Unbaked pie crust already rolled out and in the pie pan.
- Cookies
- Cakes without custard fillings.
Don't Freeze
- Custards (including pumpkin pie filling.)
- Cream sauces
- Leafy and watery vegetables like greens, onions, broccoli, green beans and cabbage
- Jell-O salads
- Marshmallows
- Salad dressings
Armed with this life changing information you should have a great week,
Lynne
Copyright 2009, Lynne Rossetto Kasper.
All Rights Reserved
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