These days I'm getting loads of butternut squash in my weekly vegetable box. Yesterday morning I had five, all lined up like chubby soldiers just waiting to be called to action.
I don't always cook things in big batches but when I do it's so satisfying I wonder that I don't do it more often. In this case I roasted three of the squash, face down on parchment (brushed lightly with olive oil). I sprinkled the squash halves with coarse sea salt and some ground black pepper before lying them down on their parchment.
The flavour base of this soup was very simple, shallots sautéed with olive oil, dried parsley and black pepper. As the shallots became translucent I added some sea salt. The shallots then remained in their pot until the pureed squash was ready.
I roasted the squash for a decent amount of time, 45 minutes. I like some of that roasted flavour to come through. Once the squash had cooled somewhat, I scooped it out of the skins and added it to my vitamix blender with some filtered water, just enough to cover the squash by about an inch.
I did this in two batches so I wouldn't overload the blender and create an exploding mess.
The first batch I pureed was added to the pot, the second was stored in a large glass container in the fridge. The next time we want some squash soup, I'll just saute up another flavour base of shallots and dried herbs (or maybe red onion and fresh herbs) and pour in the pureed squash.
The best thing about this soup is the topping. I snipped away at the tops of some living pea shoots, about a half cup per serving. Then I sprinkled about a quarter cup of roasted and salted pumpkin seeds all over. Those pumpkin seeds are great sources of protein and healthy fats, as well as minerals.
There you have it, a perfect winter soup.
Have you done any batch cooking lately? What are your favourite dishes to prepare in bulk?
xoxDani
