Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Sunshine in a Bowl / Un Rayon de Soleil

Roasted Butternut squash Soup


It’s hard to be a soup these days.

You are rarely at the family table. We see you when we are out of inspiration for dinner or when the kid has a cold. You have never been understood by the humans.
They call you names like dull, boring, you look funny; and you still come back, happy to warm up our heart and body on chilly nights.

You are mistreated. You are served too hot at home, too cold at the hospital when you are not supposed to be a gazpacho. You are thickened too much and not enough let to bloom peacefully on the stove. You spend days in the fridge alone; with only friends to talk too a pot of jam who doesn’t say much and a butter who plays it tough. They reheat you and burn you and drain you down the sink when they have enough of you.

You are mocked by children, hated by adults on diet and abused by toddlers who tickle you and give you the headache.

Still you come back in our kitchen, happy in our pots and waiving at us when we stir you gently. You know how to delight us when we treat you well and how to light up our days like sunshine in a bowl.

I really fell in love with this soup. I would never thought of a soup as something enjoyable to make and to get excited about, but this one is more than just a soup. It’s a medley of spices and places. You get the natural sweetness of the butternut squash and the apple cider mixed with the warmth of the cinnamon, the cardamom, the ginger and the all spice. And the color of the soup is just wonderful. The soup should be really velvety and silky to your tongue, so make sure to blend it well.

Like many things with warm spices, this soup improves with time. It’s delicious on the first day, but it’s magnificent on the second and out of this world on the third. At least if it stays that long.

Butternut squash soup


Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Recipe: Serves 8- 10 persons
- 1 butternut squash (3 lb)
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp cardamom
- 1 tsp allspice
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 3 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 2 cups apple cider
- ½ cinnamon stick
- 1 cup Half and half
- Salt, pepper
- Toasted almonds flakes


Preheat your oven to 425F. Peel, seed and cut your butternut squash in cubes. Place on a sheet tray and drizzle with some olive oil. Season it with salt and pepper and cook until tender, about 20 minutes.
In a heavy saucepan, reduce the apple cider on high heat, uncovered until you have 1 cup.
In a heavy large pot or a Dutch oven, sauté the onion in 1 tbsp of butter and ½ tsp vegetable oil until caramelized. Add ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, all spice and cayenne pepper. Cook for 1 minute or two until fragrant.
Add squash cubes, chicken or vegetable stock and the reduced apple cider and simmer for 25 minutes.
Discard the cinnamon stick and puree the soup using a stand blender until very smooth.
Add the half and half and cook until it thickens and reaches a velvety consistency.
Season with salt and pepper if needed and serve sprinkled with some toasted flaked almonds.

Soupe de Potiron Rôti

In francais please: 8-10 personnes
- 1 potiron (1.5 kg)
- 1 oignon, émincé
- 1 c.c de gingembre en poudre
- ½ c.c de cardamome
- 1 c.c de piment de la jamaique
- ¼ c.c de poivre de cayenne
- 750 ml de bouillon de volaille ou de légumes
- 500 ml de cidre de pommes
- ½ baton de cannelle
- 250 ml de moitié-moitié
- Sel, poivre
- Amandes effilées, légerement grillées


Préchauffer votre four à 218C. Laver votre potiron et éplucher la chair à l’aide d’un couteau économe. Enlever les graines et couper en petits cubes.
Mettre les cubes dans une tôle allant au four. Verser un filet d’huile d’olive sur les cubes de potiron et assaisonner de sel, poivre. Bien mélanger. Faites cuires jusqu’a ce qu’ils deviennent tendres, environ 20 min.
Dans une casserole à fond épais, faites réduire le cidre de pomme de moitié sur grand feu.
Dans une cocotte, faites sauter les oignons dans une c.s de beurre et ½ c.s d’huile jusqu’à ce qu’ils caramélisent. Ajouter, le gingembre, cardamome, poivre de cayenne, piment de jamaique et le baton de cannelle. Faites sauter une à deux minutes jusqu’a ce que cela devienne bien aromatisé. Ajouter les cubes de potiron aux oignons puis le bouillon de volaille, ou de legume, le cidre de pommes réduit et laisser mijoter pendant 25 minutes.
Jeter le baton de cannelle et mixer la soupe à l’aide d’un mixeur a purée avec lequel on mixe les purées de bébé (je ne me rapelle plus comment on l’appele) jusqu’à ce qu’elle devienne bien lisse.
Ajouter le moitié-moitié et laisser cuire sur feu doux jusqu’à ce que la soupe devienne onctueuse . Assaisonner de sel et de poivre si nécéssaire et servir saupoudré d’amandes effilées légerement grillées.

Bon Anniversaire Mon Ninou adoré.

23 comments:

Mingoumango (La Mangue) said...

Ben les soupes, elles sont très heureuses chez moi. Si, si, c'est vrai. Même la tienne, elle serait contente de venir chez moi ;-)

Anonymous said...

nothing but a soup ;) George C would add : "what else ?"
Your bowl is so cute !!! I love it !!! And ... I have to confess, I love your butternut soup as well :D

Meeta K. Wolff said...

You brighten up the day with this soup!

Patricia Scarpin said...

You just made me realize how much I like soup, Rose!
This would be the perfect dinner tonight.

Warda said...

- La Mangue, ma soupe m'a fait une confession aujourd'hui. Elle m'a dit qu'elle a entendu que du bien sur toi a travers d'autres soupe, et qu'elle serait contente de venir faire un tour du cote de Paris.

- Marion, Ce George C! He knew what he was talking about. Glad you like my soup. As for the bowl, it's my favorite too.

- Meeta, that's what I wanted, and I am glad it did for you my dear.

- Patricia, you should really try it. And it's even better the following day.

Anonymous said...

de nos jours les soupes ne sont pas tr�s appr�ci�es ;surtout par les jeunes � part si elle est avec options ..fini le temps ou elle �tait aval�e � coups de:mange ta soupe tu grandiras plus vite..maintenant la r�ponse est:j'ai l'air si malade que � ?? il ya des exceptions ;quand lhiver est bien install�un bon bol chaud est toujours le bien venu..et quand miss rose nous pr�sente ce sublime velout�..nous ne pouvons que l'essayer et surement l'adopter!!�lors que vivent les soupes et merci rose.biz

Dolores said...

What a beautiful -- and accurate -- ode to soup. I can't wait to try this one. A medly of spices and cultures... I can't think of a better way to add some brightness to a dreary afternoon.

Anonymous said...

I adore this soup. It is one of my favorites. Glad to find another Ann Arbor blogger. A+

winedeb said...

Rose, what can I say...this is a wonderful post! You do have a way with words...and soup! Absolutely lovely. And what a way to present your fabulous soup! I see a big smile on your soup:)

Anh said...

This is wonderful, Rose! You make me want to go back to those winter days just to eat your soup! Well, next year I will try this! :D

Warda said...

- Mima, je ne sais pas pourquoi la soupe a cette etiquette de "j'ai l'air si malade que ca" qui lui fait mauvaise reputation. Et quand est ce que tu viens la manger ma soupe au potiron?

- Dolores, thank you very much my dear. I hope you will enjoy it and that it will warm up your day.

- Hollybasil, thank you very much. I like your version of the butternut squash soup too.
I am actually not from Ann Arbor but from Farmington (less than 30 min away from Ann Arbor). I love Ann Arbor. My husband and I go there every time we get the chance.Glad you've find me ma chère voisine.

- Deb, you are too sweet. Thank you very much. And my soup is sending you a big hug.

- Anh, I know it's spring in Australia. My soup can wait for you.

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

I love butternut squash roasted with the warm spices -- cinnamon, cardamom, etc. And your soup bowl is lovely!

Nabeela said...

What a lovely color on that soup...and you're right about making sure to blend it well. I once had a soup that wasn't blended well and the coarse texture made me throw the whole pot in the garbage...it was that bad!

Anonymous said...

Comme d'habitude! Toujours autant de poesie dans ces photos! Et pour la soupe, chez nous, c'est pas la grande joie a l'annonce du menu...mais le plus important c'est qu'il ne reste rien dans les bols a la fin du repas! C'est déjà pas mal..

Aimée said...

Despite it's bad rap, this soup looks hard to resist. I love that you added cardamom, I'm a sucker for spices!

Shivapriya said...

Beautiful bowl of sunshine.
We make stews and curry with this one. But never tried soup. Does it tastes sweet??

Warda said...

- Lydia, thank you my friend. I can't wait to try your pear and prsnip soup. It sounds divine.

- Nabeela, the poor soup!! ending in the garbage... at least now we all learned our lessons about blending.

- Amira, merci beaucoup. Je suis certaine que ta petite famille doit bien se regaler si il n'en reste rien dans les bols.

- Aimee, I love cardamom too. It's so fragrant especially in this soup.

- Shivapriya, your curry must be irresistible. I love the butternut squash in soups. It tastes a little sweet. You will notice that it tastes sweeter on the first day, but on the second day as the spices start to get confortable in the soup they take over the sweetness and it becomes a fragrant soup with a hint of sweetness. Try it and let me know what you think.

Rosa said...

I have made my share of squash soups, but this one sounds really exceptional. It's easy to be boring with soups, but with a tiny bit more effort they can be exciting!

Cate said...

Looks like a perfect Fall soup. I love Soup Season.

Warda said...

- Hi Rosa! Good seasonning is absolutely important when it comes to soup. It can turn it into pure pleasure or ruin it.

- Cate, thank you very much. Fall does rhyme with soups.

Coffee and Vanilla said...

Very nice soup! I recently made pumpkin soup with almond flakes, it was delicious.
I love your photos! I will visit again soon,
Margot

Anonymous said...

Simplement superbe !

Brilynn said...

Beautiful photos! And I love roasted butternut soup.