Kitchen Note: About that Squash

Since November I had a couple of squashes sitting on my kitchen counter. The butternut squash sat in the corner and pretty much looked as though it could have sat there for a few more months before showing any signs of degradation. The kabocha squash, on the other hand, lost its beautiful greenish-orange hue and turned into an unappetizing color. But, it too fared well for how long it sat around doing nothing. 

Now, the butternut squash has a mildly sweet taste to it and traditionally I just halve it, scoop its seeds out and bake it up with a drizzling of olive oil and brown sugar. With the kabocha squash I wanted to simulate deep frying, but since the rind cured to a very hard texture, I couldn't slice it with the knives I had on hand. In fact, I couldn't remove the stem at all before baking. Instead, I stabbed it repeatedly with a chef knife to hasten its baking time.

I ended up tossing the roasted flesh of both squashes into a slow cooker and cooked it into a nice winter soup. There is still something amiss in the flavor, but the smooth, soupy texture is there.

Ingredients

One kabocha squash, roasted (seeds, strings and rind removed)
One butternut squash, roasted (seeds, strings and rind removed)
1 quart organic chicken broth
random spices: ground lemongrass powder, garlic powder, thyme, paprika
sea salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. On a rimmed baking sheet, scoop out seeds and place halves of a butternut squash cut-side down and drizzle lightly with olive oil. On a second rimmed baking sheet, halve or stab a kabocha squash. Bake both at 400 degrees for an hour. Let cool before handling. Scoop out the flesh from both squashes and put into the bowl of a slow cooker.

2. To the slow cooker: add chicken broth, spices, salt and black pepper. Cook for 8 hours on low. Blend together with an immersion blender. Serve hot.

3. If it is too thick, thin the soup with more broth.

Makes 3 quarts.

Curry Butternut Squash Soup

Autumn is when a lot of squash varieties are in season. Butternut squash is one of my favorites because it can be roasted pretty easily with brown sugar and olive oil, it can be deep fried as a vegetable (if it is sliced thinly enough), and it can be made into a nice and hearty soup.

Ingredients

One butternut squash (approx 3 lbs), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1" pieces
1 qt organic chicken broth
1 organic medium carrot, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 tbsp curry powder
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. In a stockpot, melt butter and olive oil together over medium heat. Add carrot, garlic, squash and curry powder. Let vegetables sweat for a few minutes, then add the broth. Bring soup to a boil and simmer over medium heat until squash is tender, 20-25 minutes.

2. Using an immersion blender or regular blender, pureé the mixture until smooth. Season with sea salt and black pepper, to taste. Serve while hot.

Note: If you like onions, a medium chopped onion can be added when the garlic and carrots are added. Let the onions caramelize in the oil before adding the squash and curry powder.