I love a good soup. Hot soups during cold weather; cold soups during warm weather. Hot soups should always be served piping hot, and cold soups should be cold! Soups can be a fun side or “warm-up,” or the main event–along with some nice, crusty freshly-baked bread, of course. For many people, soups are the ultimate comfort food. So many fun childhood memories of coming in from the cold to a delicious bowl of tomato soup with saltines and a grilled cheese sandwich on the side.
I have taught a fun class called “Soups and Sandwiches,” which has always done well and I enjoy exploring different styles and flavors of soups. It’s especially interesting to try unique or unusual soups from other countries. I often include a soup in my various International Cuisines classes.
I have a new class coming up that features Greenlandic and Danish foods. (See my Class Listings for the full menu and more information.) While several traditional Greenlandic and Danish dishes include things like whale and seal blubber (which I passed on), and reindeer and muskox meat (which are hard to source here in WI, and may not be to everyone’s taste), I did find a delicious-sounding soup, which I am including in the class menu.
We will be making a Danish soup called Klarsuppe which is a “clear” soup with vegetable stock, leeks, carrots, small whitefish meatballs and buttery dumplings. I am not going to include the recipe here as there is still room in the class. So if you are interested, you can come and learn how to make it with me! [3/6 (Fri) 6-8:30pm – Adult Culinary Celebration of Greenland and Denmark.]
In honor of Homemade Soup Day this week, I am going to offer the recipe for one of my go-to cold weather soups. The weather here in Wisconsin has been perfect for enjoying the warmth of a steaming bowl of this creamy Roasted Butternut Squash soup.
We had a good crop of butternut squash from our garden last year and instead of watching the golden squash go bad, I decided to bake a few of them and freeze the roasted flesh for use later. Besides soup, I like to use the deliciously-sweet flesh for ravioli, as well as for a nice addition to homemade macaroni and cheese–along with some chopped baby spinach. (Nutritious and delicious!) It’s been really great to have the frozen packets of our home-grown squash to pop into these recipes.
This butternut soup freezes well and can also be used as a sauce for roasted winter vegetables, grilled chicken, and even salmon–with a small spoonful of cranberry sauce to balance the sweetness.
For the perfect bowl of Roasted Butternut Squash Soup, add a dollop of Ginger Cream and then top with a nice spoonful of Candied Cranberries. (All recipes are below.) Please enjoy!
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
2 pounds butternut squash, cut in half and seeded
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
2 sprigs fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 large sprig of parsley
2 bay leaves
Freshly ground pepper to taste
4-6 cups chicken or vegetable stock, depending on how thick or thin you want it
½ teaspoon salt
Method: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place the squash cut side up, on a sheet tray brush or rub with half of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until the squash is soft, about an hour. The squash will get brown but that is okay. Remove and let cool a bit. Scrape the flesh from the skin and remove any overly brown pieces. Hold. Meanwhile, sweat the onions with the rest of the olive oil in a pot until soft. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Add the thyme, parsley, bay leaves and ground pepper to the pot. Add the squash pulp and enough stock to create the desired consistency of soup. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook 20 minutes or so to allow the flavors to develop. Puree the soup. Taste to see if it needs more salt and pepper.
Ginger Cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1-inch piece of ginger, washed and squeezed of juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Pinch of salt
Method: Whip the cream, ginger, brown sugar and pinch of salt to firm peaks.
Candied Cranberries
12 ounces cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Method: Cook the cranberries sugar and water in a pot until the cranberries are soft.