Hi All,
I'm happy to report that I'm back in Texas, which means I get to eat amazing, homemade Bengali cooked by Chef Mom AND use the parents' fabulous, roomy kitchen with top-notch appliances ANYTIME I want.
So, my parents and I went to Houston for the day and came home around 5, just exhausted. I thought to myself, "What better way to end the day than with a light, winter meal with a Texan twist?" and took out the necessary ingredients to make creamy, wholesome butternut squash soup and a salad topped with baked butternut squash seeds.
(Aside: Where did I get the idea to top the salad with butternut squash seeds? Well, I was scooping out the seeds on one side of the squash and suddenly felt horrible for wasting them. Then I thought, "Well heck, I've baked pumpkin seeds plenty of times before, why not butternut squash seeds?" So, even though half of the seeds had gone to waste, I scooped out the seeds from the other half of the squash, washed and dried them thoroughly, placed them on a baking sheet, and topped them with a sprinkle of olive oil and salt. Baking them in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes is more than sufficient. And it adds some nuttiness and a crunchy texture to your salad!)
Both were quite easy to make, but of course, involve cutting open a butternut squash. I mean, it's really not so bad. I hadn't had a single accident until today, when I sliced half of my left thumbnail open (okay, so this happened a few times before cutting other things...) trying to peel the damn squash. Doesn't that immediately make you think of the work floor of a factory, where they have that ticker specifying the number of days without accidents? I have a really terrible record, too - I probably sustain kitchen-related injuries at least once a week. Lord knows how many times I've cut my finger and fingernails open...or burned my forearms...or...(I'll stop now) Anyway, if it gets to be too unmanageable or overwhelming to cut the squash, chop it in half with the biggest, sharpest knife you have and THEN peel it. I have the recipe for the soup and salad below (excuse my imprecise measurements; I actually never measure things out when I cook so sorry if these are a little rough!).
This is a great recipe if you're looking for a light and healthy, but filling, meal. The soup is naturally sweetened by the richness of the butternut squash, but is seasoned with sage and garlic. The crushed red pepper and freshly ground black pepper give the soup a bit of a kick. My favorite part is dusting the soup with a bit of parmesan cheese at the end, which adds some nuttiness, and a few springs of fresh mint, which add an additional freshness to the dish.
BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP:
Ingredients:
-1 large butternut squash or 2 medium/small butternut squashes
-salt/black pepper to taste (freshly ground pepper is best)
-6 cups of chicken broth
-1 cup milk
-8 medium-sized cloves of garlic
-dried sage
-crushed red pepper flakes
-1 bay leaf
-1 tsp turmeric
-2-3 tbsp ghee
-parmesan cheese
-a few sprigs of fresh mint leaves (optional)
Preparation:
1. Peel butternut squash, scoop out the seeds (save them!), and cut the meaty portion into smaller pieces (3"x3" chunks?)
2. Peel and roughly cut cloves of garlic
3. Sautee the garlic with ghee for a few minutes in a large pot
4. Add in the chunks of butternut squash and let cook on medium-high heat for about 6-8 minutes (be sure to watch the pot, though, in case you need to stir every once in a while)
5. Add in 6 cups of chicken broth, 1 cup milk, 1 tablespoon ghee (hey -- everyone loves a buttery soup), enough salt to taste, a bit of crushed red pepper, 1 bay leaf, dried sage (a little goes a long way), and 1 teaspon of turmeric. Cover pot and cook at medium-high heat for about 20 minutes
6. Turn off heat and remove pot from stove and let soup cool for about 10 minutes.
7. REMOVE BAY LEAF and pour mixture slowly into a blender. Try to get equal parts of squash and liquid into the blender (it's okay if you can't, though, as long as you pour all of the soup into one large container in the end...that way all of the soup has the same texture and thickness).
8. Puree until the soup has a smooth texture and pour into a large bowl.
9. Top soup with a bit of shredded parmesan cheese (a little goes a long way), freshly ground black pepper, and a few sprigs of mint.
SIMPLE SALAD WITH A TEXAN TWIST
Okay, this one is going to be less structured, since I just made it up on the fly. I actually intended on making a more complicated salad, but realized at the last minute that we were almost out of lettuce and I had no desire to peel a cucumber after slicing half my finger off.
I combined some butter lettuce, 2 tomatoes, 2 avocados, 2 carrots, and some feta cheese (queso fresco would have worked better, though). I topped the salad with some freshly ground black pepper, some baked butternut squash seeds, and a homemade garlic vinegarette (combine balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, and 1 clove of crushed [You guys, just use a hammer or a meat tenderizer to crush that biznatch!] and finely chopped garlic).
(Yet another Aside: Look, y'all. The longer I've been in graduate school, the more I feel that making salad dressings from scratch is not only cost-effective, but your dressings taste better, are healthier, and you know exactly what's in them. No mystery ingredients or surprise allergies.)
Enjoy, y'all!
I'm happy to report that I'm back in Texas, which means I get to eat amazing, homemade Bengali cooked by Chef Mom AND use the parents' fabulous, roomy kitchen with top-notch appliances ANYTIME I want.
So, my parents and I went to Houston for the day and came home around 5, just exhausted. I thought to myself, "What better way to end the day than with a light, winter meal with a Texan twist?" and took out the necessary ingredients to make creamy, wholesome butternut squash soup and a salad topped with baked butternut squash seeds.
(Aside: Where did I get the idea to top the salad with butternut squash seeds? Well, I was scooping out the seeds on one side of the squash and suddenly felt horrible for wasting them. Then I thought, "Well heck, I've baked pumpkin seeds plenty of times before, why not butternut squash seeds?" So, even though half of the seeds had gone to waste, I scooped out the seeds from the other half of the squash, washed and dried them thoroughly, placed them on a baking sheet, and topped them with a sprinkle of olive oil and salt. Baking them in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes is more than sufficient. And it adds some nuttiness and a crunchy texture to your salad!)
Both were quite easy to make, but of course, involve cutting open a butternut squash. I mean, it's really not so bad. I hadn't had a single accident until today, when I sliced half of my left thumbnail open (okay, so this happened a few times before cutting other things...) trying to peel the damn squash. Doesn't that immediately make you think of the work floor of a factory, where they have that ticker specifying the number of days without accidents? I have a really terrible record, too - I probably sustain kitchen-related injuries at least once a week. Lord knows how many times I've cut my finger and fingernails open...or burned my forearms...or...(I'll stop now) Anyway, if it gets to be too unmanageable or overwhelming to cut the squash, chop it in half with the biggest, sharpest knife you have and THEN peel it. I have the recipe for the soup and salad below (excuse my imprecise measurements; I actually never measure things out when I cook so sorry if these are a little rough!).
This is a great recipe if you're looking for a light and healthy, but filling, meal. The soup is naturally sweetened by the richness of the butternut squash, but is seasoned with sage and garlic. The crushed red pepper and freshly ground black pepper give the soup a bit of a kick. My favorite part is dusting the soup with a bit of parmesan cheese at the end, which adds some nuttiness, and a few springs of fresh mint, which add an additional freshness to the dish.
BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP:
Ingredients:
-1 large butternut squash or 2 medium/small butternut squashes
-salt/black pepper to taste (freshly ground pepper is best)
-6 cups of chicken broth
-1 cup milk
-8 medium-sized cloves of garlic
-dried sage
-crushed red pepper flakes
-1 bay leaf
-1 tsp turmeric
-2-3 tbsp ghee
-parmesan cheese
-a few sprigs of fresh mint leaves (optional)
Preparation:
1. Peel butternut squash, scoop out the seeds (save them!), and cut the meaty portion into smaller pieces (3"x3" chunks?)
2. Peel and roughly cut cloves of garlic
3. Sautee the garlic with ghee for a few minutes in a large pot
4. Add in the chunks of butternut squash and let cook on medium-high heat for about 6-8 minutes (be sure to watch the pot, though, in case you need to stir every once in a while)
5. Add in 6 cups of chicken broth, 1 cup milk, 1 tablespoon ghee (hey -- everyone loves a buttery soup), enough salt to taste, a bit of crushed red pepper, 1 bay leaf, dried sage (a little goes a long way), and 1 teaspon of turmeric. Cover pot and cook at medium-high heat for about 20 minutes
6. Turn off heat and remove pot from stove and let soup cool for about 10 minutes.
7. REMOVE BAY LEAF and pour mixture slowly into a blender. Try to get equal parts of squash and liquid into the blender (it's okay if you can't, though, as long as you pour all of the soup into one large container in the end...that way all of the soup has the same texture and thickness).
8. Puree until the soup has a smooth texture and pour into a large bowl.
9. Top soup with a bit of shredded parmesan cheese (a little goes a long way), freshly ground black pepper, and a few sprigs of mint.
SIMPLE SALAD WITH A TEXAN TWIST
Okay, this one is going to be less structured, since I just made it up on the fly. I actually intended on making a more complicated salad, but realized at the last minute that we were almost out of lettuce and I had no desire to peel a cucumber after slicing half my finger off.
I combined some butter lettuce, 2 tomatoes, 2 avocados, 2 carrots, and some feta cheese (queso fresco would have worked better, though). I topped the salad with some freshly ground black pepper, some baked butternut squash seeds, and a homemade garlic vinegarette (combine balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, and 1 clove of crushed [You guys, just use a hammer or a meat tenderizer to crush that biznatch!] and finely chopped garlic).
(Yet another Aside: Look, y'all. The longer I've been in graduate school, the more I feel that making salad dressings from scratch is not only cost-effective, but your dressings taste better, are healthier, and you know exactly what's in them. No mystery ingredients or surprise allergies.)
Enjoy, y'all!
 |
| A true comfort dish: butternut squash soup topped with fresh mint leaves and nutty parmesan cheese. |
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| A fresh side dish: salad topped with baked butternut squash seeds, feta cheese, and a garlic vinegarette. |
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