News from Baking for Good

Every fall, it seems there are thousands of new squash soup recipes written about in the blogosphere. With squash soup being a favorite around here, we’ve tried our hand at about a hundred of them. We’ve also tasted every squash and pumpkin soup offered on menus across NYC and beyond. We have to say, many of them are delicious.

When it comes to squash soup, we have a rule for ourselves: indulge in creamy soups at restaurants, but when cooking up a big pot at home, use as little dairy as possible. You should never have to feel guilty eating soup.

Here is our favorite squash soup recipe. It outshines all the others we’ve tried, and it’s almost entirely dairy free. We adapted it from this Bon Appetit Recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
• 1 medium butternut squash, halved and seeded
• 1 medium to large acorn squash, halved and seeded
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 5 to 6 cups chicken stock or 5 to 6 cups purchased organic chicken broth

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place the acorn and butternut squash halves, cut-side down, on a foil-lined baking sheet drizzled with olive oil. Move the squash halves around to cover them in the oil. Roast in the oven for 1 hour. Remove and let cool slightly.
3. Melt butter with oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, parsley, and sage; sauté until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Add squash (without the skins) and coarse salt; cook about 6 minutes. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. Add 5 cups stock; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until squash is very soft, about 25 minutes. Cool slightly.
4. Use an immersion blender to blend, or, working in batches, puree soup in blender, allowing some texture to remain. Return soup to pot. Thin with stock, if desired. Season with pepper and more salt, if desired.
5. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and chill. Rewarm before serving.

Garnish Ideas:

1. Homemade spiced marshmallows
2. Parmesan croutons
3. Roasted/spiced pecans or other nuts
4. Roasted grapes, apples, or pears

Enjoy!