Winter Squash Soup

So this is something new—a recipe!

I enjoy cooking and I've tried a descent number of new recipes since starting grad school.  Some turn out better than others.  I thought this one turned out very well, so I thought I'd share.

Squash soup is definitely one of my favorite soups.  It fills me up with a warm, happy feeling as soon as I taste it, so it is perfect for long, cold winter nights.  It's also perfect because this is the traditional season for  squash, so its more sustainable than making, say, a gazpacho.

When I cook, I tend to read a few recipes and then roughly follow a combination of them, so I apologize for any inexactness hereinafter.  But it still turned out really well despite the lack of recipe, so I think it's a very modifiable dish.  It took me a little under two hours in total to make, but it doesn't require constant attention so I was doing other things while it was cooking as well.  So overall I think it's pretty easy, and yummy.


Here's what goes into it:

• Some winter squash or pumpkin (I used a small butternut and small acorn, butternut is probably the best)
• Small yellow onion
• A small apple or half of a large one (I used gala, one recipe called for tart, but I thought the gala added just the right amount of sweetness)
• Around 2 cups of chicken or vegetable broth (I used chicken)
• About a cup of milk or cream (I used 2%)
• Butter (or vegetable oil)
• A couple ribs of celery (optional)
• One or two carrots (optional)
• One or two cloves of garlic (optional)
• Salt, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, lemon juice (all optional, but it's a good idea to use a few. One recipe also called for cayenne, which I didn't use but I'm sure it'd add a nice kick)
• Another recipe called for potato, which I didn't use and I also think one called for red pepper, so you can mess around with the vegetables, just so long as they don't overpower the squash

And here's how I made it:

Bake the squash at 400˚ for about 45 to 60 minutes, should be soft all the way through.

While the squash is baking, cut the onion, apple, celery, and carrots into rather small pieces and sauté in butter or vegetable oil.

After vegetables have softened and onion is translucent (maybe 10-15 minutes) add finely chopped garlic and cook for another few minutes (not too long or the garlic turns bitter)

Add cooked vegetables, broth, and milk into a pot and simmer.  When squash is done, scoop it out of its skin or cut the skin away if that works better, and add it to the soup.

Puree the soup in a blender (you'll probably need to do batches) and return to the pot after it's all been pureed. Add spices to taste and let simmer for a bit longer.

Serve, garnish with parsley for style points.

If you're thinking that this isn't a manly meal, I'd suggest serving it as the first course with a pork tenderloin.  Or even better, go run down a deer, and serve with venison tenderloin.  Man skills.