Curried Butternut Squash and Carrot Bisque

The beauty of butternut squash is that it will last a long time. I simply store it in the pantry away from light and where it's fairly cool. I had a number of squash tucked away in the pantry from a number of months ago (more months than I want to admit!).

Last week's box brought some absolutely gorgeous carrots. The greens were incredible. So incredibly green and vibrant that I got online and researched whether they were edible. Turns out they are but it was more than I wanted to explore at the moment. If you want to find out more, click here.

So I decided to make a soup that I had made once before from Bon Appetit magazine. I figured I would stick it in the freezer for when it gets colder (even though it's almost been "soup weather" here in August!). The soup is an interesting contrast. The apple and honey give it a bit of sweetness while the Thai curry seasoning gives it a bit of a kick that warms you up when it's cold outside.

While making this soup I decided that it was high time to replace my hand immersion blender. A few years back I got a Breville from one of those high-end home magazines. It was cordless which I thought would be a plus. From the start it was annoying. There was a safety button that you had to press down for 1 second before you had to press down (with another finger) the start button. After a few months it also stopped working continuously. Every five seconds it would die and you had to start all over. I had my eye on this one from Amazon and then I saw it for a better price during a sale at my local Macy's. I have not yet put the new one through the paces but the initial tinkering told me that there was a lot more power. I will gladly give up the cordless features for power and reliability.

Curried Butternut Squash and Carrot Bisque

• 2 medium butternut squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
• Olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 small to medium yellow onion, chopped
• 3-4 carrots, peeled and chopped
  
• 1 apple, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 32 oz. broth
• 1/4 cup half and half
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp. (spicy) to 1 tsp. (very spicy) Thai Red Curry paste
• 2 tsp. honey

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Brush cut side of squash with olive oil and place on a baking dish
• Roast squash until tender, about 1 hour, and let cool
• Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat
• Add onions and saute for 1-2 minutes
  
• Add carrots and apple and saute for five minutes
• Add Thai curry paste and stir until the paste is mixed in well with other ingredients
• Add broth, bay leaves, and squash to the pot and bring to a boil
• Reduce heat to medium low simmer for 1 hour uncovered stirring regularly
  
• Discard bay leaves
• Puree soup in a blender or use an immersion mixer
• Stir in half and half and honey
• Season with salt and pepper as needed
  

Source: Bon Appetit http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2007/02/curried_butternut_squash_bisque