At A Loss
Thursday, October 13, 2005
For anything to blog about, so I'm going to post a recipe. Lame, I know, but the well is dry.Sweet Potato and Squash Soup
AMA Family Health Cookbook
1 Tbs butter
1 medium-large onion, sliced
2 cups chicken broth, plus another 2 cups
1 ½ lbs peeled and cubed butternut squash from 1 small-medium sized squash
½ lb peeled and cubed sweet potato
2 lg carrots, peeled and sliced
1 ½ tsp crumbled dried sage
½ tsp ground mace (I used freshly grated nutmeg)
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp Tabasco or equivalent
Salt to taste
¼ cup sugar
1 cup fresh cranberries (see Note)
2 Tbs orange juice
Heat the butter in a large saucepan or soup pot. Add the onion and cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until softened and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add 2 cups of the broth and the squash, sweet potato, carrots, sage, mace/nutmeg, and ginger. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over low heat until the vegetables are very tender, 20-25 mintues.
In a food processor or blender, puree the vegetable mixture, in batches if necessary, pulsing until smooth. This recipe can be made to this point 2 days ahead and refrigerated or frozen for 1 month.
Return the puree to the saucepan and whisk in the remaining 2 cups of broth. Simmer gently until heated through. Season with the Tabasco and salt to taste.
In a small saucepan, combine the sugar with 1/3 cup of water. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves, and add the cranberries. Cook uncovered over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries soften and burst, about 10 minutes. Cool slightly. In a food processor or blender, puree the cranberries with the orange juice until smooth. The cranberry puree can be made 3 days ahead and refrigerated.
Ladle the hot soup into bowls. Top with a spoonful of cranberry puree and draw the tip of a knife through the puree to create a decorative swirl, or pipe the puree through a pastry bag using a small tip.
Note: You can substitute ½ cup of canned whole-berry cranberry sauce for the cooked cranberry and sugar mixture. Puree it with the orange juice as directed in step 4.
Personal notes: I doubled this recipe and I’m glad I did. It was a huge hit, even with the kids, so we all had seconds.
The soup was a trifle thin the first night, so the puree sank to the bottom, but on the second night, the soup thickened enough that the cranberry puree worked very well. Don’t leave out the cranberry puree. It makes a fantastic tart counterpoint to the soup.
I did the canned cranberry thing because fresh cranberries weren’t available at the time.
10/13/2005 09:19:00 AM : : Sela Carsen : : 2 Comments
2 Comments:
Oooh, that sounds good, Sela. Don't tempt me with food when I'm losing weight!
By 
, at
5:43 PM
Hey, it's all low fat! You can even make it strictly vegetarian by using veg broth instead of chicken. And it's such a pretty orange color -- great for fall.
By 
Sela Carsen, at
6:20 PM