Butternut Squash And Apple Cider Soup

The trouble with the butternut squash soup I make again and again every winter is that it takes so much time: 45 minutes to roast the squash, 30 minutes to simmer it with the stock, and 15 minutes here and there for prepping. Although much of the time is hands off, I never feel I can whip it up on a weeknight.

So when I saw this recipe for butternut squash soup with cider and sour cream , which apparently could be “made in a flash,” a few things caught my eye:

1. In step 1, onion and garlic simmer in a small amount of water — not butter or oil — for about five minutes.
2. In step 2, the squash cubes steam in stock (or water) for 20 minutes.
3. In step 3, the soup is puréed with apple cider and sour cream, and then it’s done.

I followed the recipe to a T and was pleased to discover that a completely flavorful soup had materialized in 30 minutes start to finish. As the onions and garlic cooked down in the water, I was able to peel, seed and cube the squash. And the puréed soup needed nothing more than a pinch of salt and a splash of stock before it was ready for serving.

I’ve made this soup, which is at once light and comforting, three times in a week, and the past few evenings, I’ve been serving it with flatbread topped with olive oil, sea salt, and minced sage and rosemary, two of butternut squash’s best pals.

With Lahey dough stored in the fridge, this meal comes together in a flash and couldn’t taste more like fall, the fragrant herbs so nicely complementing the squash and the subtle sweetness of the apple, the tangy sour cream balancing it all out.

PS: ALL the soups right here → Soup

This soup begins with simmering minced onions or shallots and garlic in water…

…until they are soft and the liquid has nearly evaporated:

Eight cups of cubed butternut squash…

…steam for 20 minutes in a cup of chicken stock :

After the soup is partially puréed, apple cider and sour cream enter the pot:

Sometimes I have to add a bit more stock at the end to thin it out, but most of the time, it purées into a silky smooth consistency that needs little doctoring:

Last week a friend dropped off the most fragrant rosemary and sage from her garden. We have been sprinkling it over flatbreads for the past three days:

Another great use for these quart storage containers : Lahey pizza dough . A quart container might feel unnecessarily large for one round of dough, but I’ve had lids of pint containers pushed off by expanding dough after a day or two in the fridge.

Olive oil, sage, rosemary, sea salt:

Five minutes on the Baking Steel :

Dinner:

Oven spring:

Description

Adapted from Food52 and The Essential New York Times Cookbook. I have made a double quantity here and have made a few minor adjustments: onion for shallot, no garnish, a bit more chicken stock…that’s about it.

Find the Herbed Flatbread Recipe Here .

• 1/2 large white or yellow onion, minced
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
• 8 cups peeled, seeded and cubed butternut squash
• 1 cup chicken stock (or water), preferably homemade, plus more for thinning out as needed
• 1 1/2 cups apple cider
• 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• Cracked black pepper
• Bread for serving

1. Heat a medium-size saucepan over low heat. Add the onion, garlic, and 1/2 cup water. Cook until the shallot and garlic are softened, being careful not to let them burn, 5 to 7 minutes — the water will be nearly evaporated.
2. Add the squash and the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the squash is soft, about 20 minutes.
3. Using an immersion blender, purée until roughly smooth. (Alternatively, carefully pour the mixture into a blender. Holding the top down with a towel, blend until smooth.) Add the cider, 1/2 cup of the sour cream, and salt. Continue blending until well combined. Taste, add more salt if necessary. (I often add another teaspoon of kosher salt.) Add more sour cream if desired (I always do.). Thin out with more stock — you may need as much as another cup of stock. Taste, adjust seasoning again as necessary. Serve immediately with good bread.

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Category: Soup
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: American

Description

Adapted from Food52 and The Essential New York Times Cookbook. I have made a double quantity here and have made a few minor adjustments: onion for shallot, no garnish, a bit more chicken stock…that’s about it.

Find the Herbed Flatbread Recipe Here .

• 1/2 large white or yellow onion, minced
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
• 8 cups peeled, seeded and cubed butternut squash
• 1 cup chicken stock (or water), preferably homemade, plus more for thinning out as needed
• 1 1/2 cups apple cider
• 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• Cracked black pepper
• Bread for serving

1. Heat a medium-size saucepan over low heat. Add the onion, garlic, and 1/2 cup water. Cook until the shallot and garlic are softened, being careful not to let them burn, 5 to 7 minutes — the water will be nearly evaporated.
2. Add the squash and the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the squash is soft, about 20 minutes.
3. Using an immersion blender, purée until roughly smooth. (Alternatively, carefully pour the mixture into a blender. Holding the top down with a towel, blend until smooth.) Add the cider, 1/2 cup of the sour cream, and salt. Continue blending until well combined. Taste, add more salt if necessary. (I often add another teaspoon of kosher salt.) Add more sour cream if desired (I always do.). Thin out with more stock — you may need as much as another cup of stock. Taste, adjust seasoning again as necessary. Serve immediately with good bread.

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Category: Soup
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: American

Find it online : https://alexandracooks.com/2014/10/21/butternut-squash-and-cider-soup-served-with-rosemary-and-sage-flatbread/

I had high hopes this week for posting about a two-bowl wonder, a baked mix of wheat berries and butternut squash topped with bacon and parmesan. Unfortunately, the steamed butternut squash disappeared in the mass of wheat berries, leaving us with an irresistible bacon and parmesan crust atop a heap of grains and mushy, tasteless squash.

We ate the top third then stashed the remainder in the fridge. The following evening seemed like a good time to get in on all of the “whole grain bowl” fun, to unite our leftovers with a few bright elements — some sort of pickle and a tangy sauce. We would top it all off with soft-boiled eggs and call dinner done. Before starting, I revisited Melissa Clark’s recent piece in the Times to make sure I had my boxes checked: whole grains (wheat berries!), greens (sautéed kale and steamed broccoli), some sort of pickle (yet to be determined), protein (eggs), dressing (yet to be determined).

I had two elements to prep: the pickle and the sauce:

The pickle: I love the pickled carrots and daikon ubiquitous at Vietnamese restaurants, and I happened to have both carrots and daikon on hand, so I pulled out my mandoline and set to work slicing and pickling: 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon rice vinegar. Any number of vegetables could work here — fennel, beets cabbage (whatever you have on hand) — but if you don’t feel like making a pickle, kimchi (which Clark suggests) would be a nice substitute.

The sauce: I love a good teriyaki sauce especially over brown rice — Japanese bento boxes come to mind — and teriyaki sauce is so easy to make at home: soy sauce, mirin, sugar, chicken stock and sake (or sherry or white wine) simmer for 20 minutes or until slightly reduced and syrupy. That’s it.

Before serving, I piled all of my leftovers in a colander to re-steam stovetop. I set the pickled carrots and daikon on the table along with a few bottles of hot sauce. I kept my teriyaki sauce warm. And finally, just before serving, I soft-boiled three eggs — 6 minutes! effortless peeling! — whose oozing yolks along with a sweet-and-salty teriyaki sauce succeeded in tying all of the disparate elements together.

Clearing the fridge of leftovers always feels like a feat. But this — this felt like a triumph.

For the quick pickle: carrots and daikon.

These are the leftovers I had on hand: cooked wheatberries, three stalks of steamed broccoli, and sautéed kale. Any leftovers you have on hand will work in this sort of dish:

This is a good way (thank you, Mama) to reheat all of your leftovers: place them in a large strainer or colander, set it over a pot with an inch of water in it, cover the whole top surface with aluminum foil, and place the pan over high heat for 6 to 8 minutes or so. BE CAREFUL removing the foil to avoid getting burned by the steam:

So, these are the components I used: homemade terikayi sauce , quick-pickled carrots and daikon, re-steamed wheat berries, kale and broccoli, and 6-minute soft boiled eggs.

Two soft-boiled eggs plus lots of hot sauce for Ben:

Description

For the teriyaki sauce:

• 1 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade, low-sodium if otherwise
• 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons mirin
• 2 tablespoons sake (or sherry or white wine)

For the quick pickle:

• 1 carrot, julienned
• 1 small daikon, julienned
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon vinegar, such as rice, white wine, red wine, white balsamic, etc.

To assemble:

• any sautéed green or steamed vegetable
• cooked whole grains such as quinoa, brown rice, farro, etc.
• eggs (however many you want)

1. Make the teriyaki sauce: In a medium saucepan, combine the the stock, soy sauce, sugar, mirin and sake (or wine) and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to moderate and simmer until the teriyaki sauce is reduced to 1/2 cup and syrupy, about 20 minutes.
2. Make the pickle: Place the thinly sliced vegetables in a bowl. Sprinkle with sugar, salt and vinegar. Let stand for at least 10 minutes.
3. Prepare your leftovers to be re-heated: Place leftovers in a large strainer or colander, set it over a pot with an inch of water in it, cover the whole top surface with aluminum foil, and place the pan over high heat for 6 to 8 minutes or so. BE CAREFUL removing the foil to avoid getting burned by the steam.
4. Make the soft-boiled eggs: Bring a medium pot filled with water to a boil. Using a slotted spoon, carefully lower eggs into water; boil 6 minutes. Transfer eggs immediately to a bowl of cold water to cool.
5. Assemble bowls: Pile re-heated grains and vegetables into bowls. Place pickled carrots and daikon on table along with a few hot sauces. Drizzle teriyaki sauce over everything. Place peeled eggs into bowl. Halve them once they are in the bowl.