by Craig Maltby for Club LT
A few years ago, I started getting into homemade soup. I don’t know exactly why. Maybe I was looking for alternatives to large batches of lasagna or meat loafs that I could freeze. Something different.
I came upon a recipe for squash soup on the interweb that I modified somewhat. It has become a staple of our household.
My daughter was at a business dinner on the West Coast and the restaurant was serving squash soup. Her boss looked at her after a few minutes.
“What’s wrong? You look a little disturbed,” he said.
“This squash soup. It just isn’t like my dad makes at home,” she said.
Booya for me!
Being a soup fiend doesn’t mean doesn’t mean you give up your man card. I give samples to my neighbors and their boys from time to time. They love it. Whenever I serve it at get-togethers, it’s a hit.
And the soup I make is healthy. Many squash soups, for example, are really sweet. Too much added sugar. Not mine. And while you can get some very good soup mixes at the grocery store, there always seems to be so much sodium in those products.
Doing soup from scratch is a great winter time-spender. Especially during Sundays, where you can do all the prep and cutting while watching NFL football or college basketball games. You can have the best of both worlds. Your wife won’t get on your case because you are getting dinner ready…while satisfying your football jones. What could be better!!??
My wife and I now have a Fabulous Four of soups we make regularly:
1. Butternut squash soup (has to be butternut squash)
2. French-style pea and cauliflower (it’s truly good, honest)
3. Turkey chili (with ground turkey; beans optional)
4. Thick tomato basil
Any of these soups are fantastic. Here’ my squash soup recipe below:
Ingredients:
• 1 medium size butternut squash
• 1 cup orange juice
• 2 green apples
• 1 medium Vandalia onion
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 8 cups chicken broth (low sodium is great)
• 1 tbsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp leaf tarragon
• ½ pint heavy cream
Directions:
- Peel squash and cut into 2-3-inch cubes
- In separate pan, sautée onion and apples in olive oil on low heat to soft/firm
- In a large soup pot, mix chicken broth and orange juice; bring to a boil
- Add squash, sautéed apples and onions. Boil for 45 minutes or until squash has softened but is still sllightly firm.
- Reduce heat to medium simmer
- With a hand food processor, thoroughly blend the squash/apples/onion in the pot to a smooth consistency. This will take about 15 minutes or longer.
- Add pepper, salt, cloves, cinnamon and tarragon
- Let simmer for 30 minutes
- Blend again with hand processor to eliminate any remaining “chunks” and attain an even smoother consistency. 10 minutes or so.
- Let simmer for 15 minutes.
Serve in soup bowls. Add a small swirl of heavy cream to the soup in the bowl.
Eat up and enjoy!
Serves 8
