Butternut Bisque

This bisque is a cream soup by virtue of the potato and the silky butternut squash in your share.

Ingredients:

2 - 2 1/2 lb butternut squash

2 Tbsp butter

2 carrots, sliced

1 onion, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped (may substitute fennel bulb)

2 potatoes, peeled and cubed

5- 6 cups stock

1 1/2 tsp. curry powder

pinch of nutmeg and ginger

creme fraiche for garnish optional

Peal, scrape, and cube the squash. Set aside. Melt the butter in a large soup pot; add the carrots, onion, and celery; sauté until soft. Stir the squash and potatoes into the vegetables. Add the stock; bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, partially covered for 40 minutes. Add curry, nutmeg and ginger. Puree the soup in batches in a blender. Return to the saucepan; add more stock if necessary to thin; salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with a dollop of creme fraiche if you like.

Kale and Butternut Squash Pot Pie

For the filling:

3 Tbsp olive oil

3 leeks, quartered lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 lb butternut squash, peeled and cut in to 1/2 inch cubes

1 can Cannellini beans, drained

1 bunch Lacinato kale, chopped

3 cups stock (veggie or chicken)

1 rosemary sprig

3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

For the topping

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

Coarse Salt

1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

1/1/3 cups heavy cream, plus more for brushing

Directions:

1 Make the filling: Heat oil in a large cassoulet over medium heat. Cook leeks and garlic until tender, about 5 minutes. Add butternut squash, beans, kale, stock, rosemary. Bring to a gentle simmer. Cook covered until vegetabes are just tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in cheese, and season with salt and pepper. Let cool.

2. Preheat oven to 375. Make the topping: Whisk together flour, baking powder, and 1 tsp salt in a medium bowl. Cut in butter using a pastry cutter or rub in with your fingers until small clumps form. Stir in cheese. Add cream, and stir with a fork until a sticky dough forms. Divide into 8 balls (about 1/2 cup each).

3. Transfer filling to an 11 by 13 inch (10 cup) baking dish. Top with dough balls, and brush with cream. Bake until topping is golden and filling is bubbling, about 55 minutes. If biscuits darken too quickly, cover with foil.

Lacinato Kale and Roasted Butternut Squash Minestra

This makes a light soup of winter vegetables. In this recipe nothing is soggy, it's a perfect combination of brothy body with golden roasted veggies and a little Parmesan cheese. Enjoy with fresh Three Grain Bread from Rio Gozo Farm CSA bread share.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 butternut squash, peeled and cut in 1/2 inch cubes

2 garlic cloves

1 tsp finely chopped rosemary

1 bunch Lacinato kale

4 cups veggie stock

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 lemon or grapefruit for zest

1 can drained Cannellini beans or precooked pasta shells

Shaved Parmigiano- Reggiano cheese

Preheat the oven 400.

Roast the peeled, cubed butternut squash in 4 tbsp olive oil, salt and some of the rosemary until golden brown.

Meanwhile, remove the ribs of the Lacinato Kale and toss in olive oil, zest and salt. Roast the kale on a baking sheet till semi-crispy. Stir and check frequently.

In a large pot, saute onion, rosemary and garlic till translucent. Add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Lower heat and add roasted squash and beans. You may want to add water and salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer a few more minutes.

Before serving add roasted kale, top with shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Soup Day, Butternut Squash and Pears

The winter squash has been harvested and safely stored just in time for the first Big Rain Day of the season. The fields are too muddy to muck around in; but it is a perfect day for being cozy inside and making soup.

There's butternut squash in Rio Gozo Farm's CSA box this week so if you don't already have your own favorite butternut squash soup recipe, try mine from Anna Thomas' cookbook, The New Vegetarian Epicure. I've had this cookbook as my number one go to source of dinner inspiration for 10 years. It is still my favorite; however, I haven't read her newest book, Love Soup, (James Beard award winner).

Here's another option for soup this week, click on the link to watch a video with Anna Thomas making a recipe from Love Soup.

Winter Squash and Turnips.

Hooray! yet another idea for using those turnips.

Butternut Squash and Pear Soup

(serves 6-8)

Ingredients:

1lb. butternut squash

1 large yam

2 cups vegetable broth

1 1/2 cup water

1 stick cinnamon

3/4 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp butter

2 medium onions, sliced

3 large Anjou or Bartlett pears

1/3 cup half and half

white pepper to taste

cilantro for garnish

Peal, seed, and dice the squash and yam. Put them both in a pot with the vegetable broth, water, cinnamon stick, and salt, and simmer until tender, about 40 minutes. Discard the cinnamon stick.

Melt the butter and gently cook the onions in it, stirring occasionally until it begins to caramelize. Peel, core, and thinly slice the pears, and add them to the onions. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the wine, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the pear mixture to the soup and purée everything in a blender in batches. Add the cream and some white pepper, and a bit more salt if needed. Heat the soup until hot but do not boil. Serve with sprigs of cilantro and with a hunk of your Kate Pepper Bread.

Winter Squash and Turnips.