Slow Cooker Thai Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut squash is typically associated with fall but its season is fall to winter when evenings are getting cooler and the amount of sunlight begins to noticeably wane.

This is a super easy yet slightly exotic soup and it is the perfect accompaniment to the changing weather. It would be a great weeknight treat. It's also a good soup to have by the mugful on a chilly weekend while you're reading a book.

I ran into this recipe while continuing my search for ways to use the slow cooker. Karen Raye's Kitchen Treaty food blog is a nice one and is worth exploring. I've added it to my list on the right.

Her Thai Curry Butternut Squash soup is great because there are only five ingredients. The one thing you have to be careful about is the Thai Curry paste. It packs a punch. If you don't like spicy then start with 1 teaspoon. I did two teaspoons and I thought it was good but my spouse thought it was too spicy. You will need to find your comfort zone and/or the comfort zone of those you will serve this to. You can find the paste in many supermarkets these days. If not, you can order it through Amazon.

Thai Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

• Butternut squash - 1 medium to large
• Yellow onion - peeled and chopped
• Broth - 4 cups
• Thai Red Curry paste - 1 1/2 teaspoon or to taste
• Coconut milk - 1 14 oz. can (not light)

Directions:

The night before:

• Peel, seed, and dice the butternut squash
• Peel and chop onion

Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

The morning of:

• Add squash, onions, and broth to your slow cooker
• Cook on low for 8-10 hours

That evening:

• Turn off the slow cooker and remove the lid to lower the temperature
• When cooler, use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth
• Stir in the coconut milk
• Stir in the red curry paste

Let the flavors marry. Taste to see if you want to add more curry paste or salt. You can garnish with some roasted pepitas or pine nuts. A sprig of parsley or cilantro can also be added.

Note: One of the questions that came to mind as I was making this is whether or not I could freeze it since it has coconut milk in it. The answer I found online is that it's perfectly acceptable to freeze it. 

Butternut Squash and Pear Soup

Fall into Winter. The CSA box is delivering lots of apples, baby bok choy, butternut squash, and leeks. So we are eating with the seasons.

In October,  I found some of this soup in our deep freezer. It was quite good. The different sweetnesses definitely marry over time. The coconut milk adds a nice silkiness.

Since I had the ingredients on hand, I decided to make the soup again tonight fresh. I might try to roast the butternut squash next time to see if that adds another layer of flavor.

It was still quite tasty. The butternut squash flavored is tempered with a little sweetness from the pears. The coconut milk adds its own dimension. A good one for cold fall and winter dinners.

Butternut Squash and Pear Soup

Ingredients:

• Olive oil - 3 Tbsp.
• Butternut squash - 1 medium or 2 small - peeled, seeded, and chopped into 1 inch blocks
• Leeks - 1 large or 2 medium, white and tender green parts chopped
• Bartlett pears - 2 or 3 ripe pears, peeled, cored and cut into 1 inch blocks
• Broth - 5 cups
• Coconut milk - 1 14 oz. can of light coconut milk
• Garnish: Dried chives or roasted pumpkin seeds or be creative
• Salt and white pepper to taste

Preparation:

• Heat olive oil over medium low heat. Add chopped leeks and cook, stirring often, about 10 minutes.
• Prepare butternut squash and pears and add to leeks. Saute for 5 minutes.
• Add broth and bring to a boil.
• Lower heat to medium-low and simmer until squash is fork tender (minimum 20 minutes).
• Using an immersion blender or standard blender, puree the soup.
• Season with salt and white pepper.
• Add coconut milk.
• Cook down to desired consistency.
• Garnish and plate.

Serve with some crusty, high quality bread with either butter or olive oil.

Original inspiration:
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/butternut-squash-bartlett-pear-soup/

Butternut Squash Hummus

Because I'm always looking for ways to use up the plentiful butternut squash that come in our box, I had saved this recipe from the Whole Food website. It seemed like an interesting take on hummus--which we enjoy quite frequently.

The results were quite tasty. I adapted the original recipe by adding more garlic and a splurge of hot sauce. Other interesting ethnic spices could be added as well. This is a great starting point and you can make it your own by trying out different ingredients.

Chickpea hummus can leave you feeling bloated after you eat enough of it. Not so with this butternut squash. This hummus is lighter with the butternut squash adding a slight sweetness. But the tahini keeps it creamy.

Butternut Squash Hummus

Ingredients:

• 1 small cooked butternut squash - you want about 3 cups
• juice of one small lemon
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 8 pitted olive, roughly chopped
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 1 nice splurge of your favorite hot sauce. I used Crystal.

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Cut the squash in half and clean out the seeds
• Rub the inside of the squash with a bit of olive oil
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper
• Place squash in a casserole dish and cook until done (about an hour)
• Add all other ingredients to a food processor
• Remove squash when done and let cool
• Scoop squash out of peel into the food processor
• Puree all ingredients, adding 1 or 2 tablespoon water, if needed

Serve as an appetizer with assorted vegetables (celery, carrots, radishes, etc.) or with crackers.

Sausage, Butternut Squash, and Kale Minestrone

I have been making a fair amount of soup and soup stock these days just because all the right ingredients are arriving in the box (leeks, potatoes, carrots, onions). I've made a few batches of Leek and Potato soup loving the way that the potato can add that creaminess but without the heaviness.

Recently, I adapted a soup recipe that was included in the box. We had most of the ingredients on hand through recent deliveries. Then the other ingredients were just regular items that we keep in our pantry (squash, beans, and cans of diced tomatoes).

Now, as for the sausage. We don't eat meat but you can use your favorite meat sausage if you do. We have been enjoying the vegetarian Field Roast Italian Sausage in some dishes recently (they also have a blog). The sausage has a nice consistency with fennel seeds giving the sausage an authentic taste. It's nice to brown it in another skillet and add it to the soup during the last 15 minutes of cooking.

The way I adapted this recipe was to make it into a larger batch. The original recipe only called for 3 cups of broth but I've upped the carrots and celery and broth. It's the kind of soup that you can make without a timeline and you can tweak or improvise the ingredients. Start working on it on a weekend afternoon and just keep the heat down low. You will be able to enjoy this tasty soup for days (lunch for work or weeknight leftovers).

Sausage, Butternut Squash, and Kale Minestrone

Ingredients:

• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 3-4 stalks of celery, sliced
• 3-4 carrots, sliced
• 1 Tbsp. herb blend - like Italian or Fines Herbes
• 28 oz. can diced tomatoes (preferably with seasoning)
• 1 quart broth (veggie preferred)
• 1 small or 1/2 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed (potato can be a substitute)
• 1 19 oz. can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 19 oz. can white beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 bunch kale (Lacinato or Dino kale preferred), stemmed and chopped
• 2-4 sausages, sliced and browned in a skillet
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:

• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook until softened and beginning to get translucent (about 10-15 minutes).
• Add celery and carrots and cook another 5-10 minutes.
• Add the herb blend, diced tomatoes, broth, and squash cubes. Cover with a lid and cook over low for at least 30 minutes to soften the squash.
• Add the kale and let it cook down.
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• Add the beans and browned sausage during the last 15-30 minutes.

Butternut Squash Backlog

We've been getting a butternut squash each week in our CSA box for the last number of weeks. I am being very creative in the places that I store them in the pantry. Thankfully, they keep for awhile.

With some friends coming over for dinner recently, I saw an opportunity to use up the largest of the herd. I would make a butternut squash risotto. I looked online to see if there were any interesting variations. When I found this recipe (which I adapted below), I was reminded of the small container of saffron that was given to me over the holidays also sitting in the pantry.

Now, saffron is not absolutely essential to the recipe. It is the most expensive spice in the world since it must be hand harvested. But the good news is that a little goes a long way. On Amazon you can find some small amounts of saffron for less than $20 and you will get 3 - 4 uses out of it.

But the saffron elevates the typical butternut squash risotto to another level. The saffron imparts a subtle flavor but it also gives the risotto an exotic shade of light yellow.

A drizzle of truffle oil over the bowls just prior to serving gives the dish a heady aroma.

Saffron Risotto with Butternut Squash

Ingredients

• 1 large butternut squash (2 pounds)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 stick of butter
• 1/2 cup minced shallots
• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 6 cups of broth, preferably homemade
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
• 1 teaspoon saffron threads
• salt and pepper
• truffle oil (optional)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400
• Peel, seed and cube the butternut squash
• Place on a cookie sheet covered with foil, toss with oil, salt, and pepper and roast for 25 - 30 minutes, until tender (can be done the day before)
• In a heavy-bottomed pot, melt the butter and saute the shallots on medium low for 10 minutes until shallots are translucent but not browned
• Add the rice and stir to coat the grains with butter
• Add the white wine and cook for a few minutes, stirring often
• Add the butternut squash
• Add a cup or two of heated stock, 1 teaspoon of salt, and a some fresh black pepper
• Continue adding stock as the previous batch gets absorbed, stirring often
• Add the saffron and squash about halfway through along with the next batch of stock
• Continue until rice is cooked but still al dente - 20 - 30 minutes
• Stir in cheese, turn off the heat and let stand for 10 minutes
• Optional: Serve in bowls and drizzle with truffle oil 

Serves 6.

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

Roasted Butternut Squash and Rapini Risotto

The last few deliveries have included a large bunch of rapini. This is another case where the box has introduced me to a new ingredient that I need to figure out how to cook.

Rapini is also called broccoli raab (or broccoli rabe). According to Wikipedia,

Rapini is classified scientifically as Brassica rapa subspecies rapa,in the same subspecies as the turnip.

Rapini has many spiked leaves that surround a green bud which looks very similar to a small head of broccoli. There may be small yellow flowers blooming from the buds, which are edible.

The flavor of rapini has been described as nutty, bitter, pungent, and "an acquired taste." The Italian cultivar is similar to, but much more bitter than the Chinese. The Chinese cultivar is of a lighter green color, not at all bitter or pungent, and more tender.

Rapini is a source of vitamins A, C, and K, as well as potassium, calcium, and iron.

Rapini is grown in California from August through March making it a great candidate for the fall garden. The informational insert that came with this week's box has you blanching the rapini for a few minutes in salted boiling water. Many of the recipes I found online confirmed this approach.

To blanch the rapini: Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil, Meanwhile, clean and cut the rapini leaves into 1 inch strips. When water begins to boil, add 2 teaspoons of salt and the greens. Stir until wilted and tender (1-2 minutes). Drain pot into colander. Fill the pot with cold water and submerge greens to stop cooking. Dry in a salad spinner.

So last night's dinner featured the blanched rapini and a roasted butternut squash (both from the box) going into a risotto. A few drops of truffle oil after plating made for a great meal on a cloudy, rainy day.

The blanched rapini is one approach but you can also explore some other strategies. Two recipes (one from Rachael Ray and another from Mariquita Farms) have you wilting the rapini in a skillet with broth or water along with the other ingredients. This local food blog makes a great case for roasting it which I look forward to trying.

Azteca Squash Soup

I was paging through an old Bon App that was sitting around and a recipe caught my eye.

As I read I thought, I had bell peppers, limes, tomatoes, and jalapeno peppers from the backyard. I had a butternut squash sitting in the pantry. I had cilantro from the box in the fridge. I had some avocado that needed to be used. I had leftover non-fat sour cream in the fridge. It was a perfect storm of ingredients for this recipe. The recipe was from the Rancho La Puerta resort in Mexico. I have two of their cookbooks and I could not locate this recipe in either cookbook. We decided that this adaptation was a keeper. Start early because it takes awhile to do the first few steps but later things can slow down and wait.

Azteca Squash Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 medium butternut squash, halved and seeded
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium-sized onion, diced
• 1 cup celery, chopped (about 1 stalk)
• 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 cups of broth
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and sliced
• juice of half a lime
  
• cilantro leaves, chopped tomato, diced avocado, non-fat sour cream for garnish

Procedures:

• Early in the day or the day before:
  
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Cut the butternut squash in half and clean out
  
• Spray nonstick spray on a baking dish
• Sprinkle cut squash with salt and pepper and lay cut side down into the baking dish
• Roast until tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours
• When cooked, remove squash from oven and turn squash cut side up to cool
• When cool, scoop squash into a medium bowl

• Closer to serving time:
  
• Heat oil in a large pot and add onion, cook until onion is pale golden (5-10 minutes)
  
• Mix in celery, garlic, and 1 cup of broth
• Cover and simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally, add salt and pepper to taste
  
• Add butternut squash, 5 cups of broth, and cumin
• Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes to blend flavors

• Prior to serving:
  
• Use an immersion blender to puree the mix until smooth
• Squeeze in lime juice
  
• Add black beans, corn kernels, bell peppers, and jalapeno peppers (I also added in sliced and sauteed veggie sausages)
  
• Cover and simmer for 10 minutes
• Serve into bowls and garnish with your choice of non-fat sour cream (or plain yogurt), diced tomatoes, diced avocados, cilantro leaves