No Soup For You!

I could never be the Soup Nazi. I love soup, even when it's 110* outside (which happens frequently here on the edge of the Mojave Desert). It's rare that I don't have a Rubbermaid storage bowl in the fridge with portions of a soup I've made. I can whip up a batch of tomato basil in less than 30 minutes, or take four hours to painstakingly put together a pot of beef chili with just the right amount of heat.

In the past I have stayed with traditional flavors like those mentioned above, but lately I've been thinking of making more vegetarian recipes. I purchased a share in a local farm's co-op for the past year; I have enjoyed fresh greens, squash, onions, garlic, potatoes, leeks, beets, tomatoes and more. The abundance of organic vegetables has been a great thing for my diet, and has inspired me to eat less and less meat. In order to find some good vegetarian recipes, I went to one of the most trusted sources: Mollie Katzen.

Mollie wrote the classic vegetarian cookbook "The Enchanted Broccoli Forest" when I was still a high school student. I've owned a copy for a decade now, and find her lentil walnut veggie burgers a fantastic substitute for hamburgers. This time I wanted to use the abundance of butternut squash I have on hand, and so I tried this recipe today:

Mollie Katzen's Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 med. (about 4 lbs.) butternut squash

2 Tbsp. butter

1 med. red or yellow onion, chopped

1 1/2 tsp. salt

2 med. Granny Smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced

1/2 tsp. crumbled dried (or rubbed) sage

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

4 cups water

Up to 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, as needed

Up to 1 Tbsp. brown sugar (light or dark), as needed

Adjust the oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking tray with foil and drizzle it with the olive oil. Use a sharp heavy knife to cut the squash in halve lengthwise. (Do this very carefully. Safest technique: Insert the point of the knife first, and use a gentle sawing motion to initiate the cutting.) Use scissors to cut loose the strands of pulp around the seeds, ad then scrape the seeds away with a spoon. Discard the seeds or reserve them to toast. Use a sturdy vegetable peeler to peel the squash halves. Then cut the flesh into 1" pieces, once again being careful with your knife because the squash can be both very hard and very slippery. (The shape and uniformity of the churnks do not matter since it will all get pureed.) Arrange the squash chunks in a single layer on the prepared tray, and roast in the center of the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the pieces are fork tender and turning brown around the edges. (Shake the tray a few times during the roasting to keep the pieces from sticking.) Removed from the oven and set aside. While the squash is roasting, melt the butter in a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. When the butter foams, swirl to coat the pan, and then add the onion and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, or until the onion begins to soften. Add the apple slices, along with the sage and thyme, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally. For about 10 minutes, or until the apples are very tender. Add the roasted squash and the water to the onion-apple mixture. Turn up the heat and bring the soup to a boil, then turn the heat all the way down to the lowest possible setting. Cover, and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, uncover and let it sit until the soup cools down to a comfortable pureeing temperature. Use a blender or immersion blender to puree the soup until it is smooth. Time for the taste test: if the soup tastes good, you’re there. If it seems too sweet, add some or all of the lemon juice. If it’s tarter than you like, add brown sugar to taste. If necessary, reheat the soup gently over medium-low heat, being careful not to let it boil. Serve hot.

I found this recipe to be perfect; I did not add either lemon juice or brown sugar. However, I prefer savory soups to sweet soups, so use your own judgment. While I like the taste that the thyme and sage provide, I wonder how I might tweak it a notch. A pinch of nutmeg? Roasted salted sunflower seeds? Any suggestions?