Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

Hi all!

Sorry I haven’t been posting as frequently as I usually do. Life gets the better of me every now and again; but I’m back with more delicious pumpkin recipes.

This dish is about as seasonal as it’s going to get at the moment. I hope you can also see that I’m linking thing’s I’m using with previous recipes so that you can follow along with my fridge. The idea behind this is to show you how much easier you can make your food and how much better it can be by simply setting yourself up and knowing how to use what you have on hand.

I’ve become a big fan of sweet and spicy combinations and I think this soup is a great introduction to the flavor combination. The soup itself is pretty simple to make, but I chose to serve it in a modern fashion where the soup is poured into a pre-garnished bowl; as opposed to having it on top. So if you want to skip the garnish, it’s really easy.

The soup is pureed at the end, so uniform cuts aren’t really important here at all. All these specifics of slices and dices are there for your understanding. Just know that you want to keep them all the same size so they cook evenly – that’s the key here.  

This is a great way to serve soup to guests! However, if you want to skip all the fanciness, just serve it straight with some fresh hearty bread and it will be sure to please.

Squash and sweet potato soup

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

Squash and sweet potato soup

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 large Spanish onions (sliced)

2 large carrots (diced)

1 stalk celery (diced)

3 cloves garlic (sliced) or 2 T minced garlic (jarred)

1 Thai chili (or jalapeno) (diced)

1 tsp siracha

¼ tsp vanilla

1 Quart butternut squash (diced)

2 Quarts pumpkin (diced)

1 Apple (diced)

1 pinch celery seed

1 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp dark chili powder

2 quarts stock (vegetable or chicken)

4 sweet potatos (diced)

Salt

Pepper

Apple Ricotta

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 Tablespoon apple butter

1 tsp olive oil

2 leaves sage (fresh) (chiffonade)

Pepper garnish

1 Tablespoon pickled Anaheim pepper (diced)

2 Tablespoons pickled red onion (diced)

¼ cup sweet and salty pumpkin seeds (chopped fine)

½ Tablespoon parsley (chiffonade)

1 tsp olive oil

2 teaspoons dried cranberry (diced small)

Directions:

Squash and sweet potato soup

1. In a large pot over medium heat, sweat off carrots, onions, and celery until the onions are almost translucent; add the garlic and chili pepper until onions become clear.
2. Add vanilla and siracha and stir until incorporated.
3. Add your squashes and apple; stir occasionally until they begin to give off steam and begin to caramelize.
4. Add celery seed, sweet paprika, chili powder. Stir in until it coats everything.
5. Add your sweet potatoes and stock.
6. Allow to come to a boil and then bring the heat down to a simmer.
7. Cook soup until potatoes are fork soft (about 1 hour).
8. In small batches, blend in a blender until smooth and carry through a strainer to remove any fibrous strands that remain.
9. Once the entire mixture is blended, add back into the pot on low heat and season to taste.

Apple Ricotta

1. Push ricotta cheese through mesh strainer before using.
2. Add remaining ingredients and mix until incorporated
3. Hint: use your tabletop mixer paddle attachment to make this more fluffy and smooth.

Pepper Garnish

1. Combine all ingredients and mix until incorporated
2. Hint: Do a really fine chop on the seeds, or substitute with pepitas. 

Pumpkin Hummus

Hummus is one of my favorite things to make. It’s perfect for almost every kind of situation and by simply creating a seasonal blend; you can really “wow” your guests with different variations. Simply provide some fresh bread/pita or some nicely cut vegetables and use it as a dip. It’s quite filling and satisfying.

Hummus goes great in flatbreads, sandwiches, purees, and dips. With the combination of seeds and nuts in one element, I lean heavily on making hummus as a go-to simple dish that is sure to please everyone.  I suggest toasting some bread, pita, or naan with chive oil and cutting some fresh veggies down. I’d also accent this with a garnish of toasted seeds/nuts or pickled veggies. 

Traditionally this dish is based off chickpeas, but I’ve found restaurants all over the place using any legume and then calling it a hummus. I would not call this a classical dish at all. I cook American cuisine and it’s a melting pot of local cuisine influenced by an influx of immigration.

This will really be something unique for you to enjoy so do so irresponsibly with an adult beverage. Cheers!

Pumpkin Hummus

Prep time: 5-7 minutes

Cook time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

1 can cannellini beans

8 Tablespoons pumpkin puree

1 juice and zest of lemon or orange

2 Tablespoons Tahini

1 clove roasted garlic (or half clove raw, 1 teaspoons garlic powder)

Salt and pepper

Stock

Smoked paprika

ground cinnamon

sweet and salty pumpkin seeds

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients (except salt, pepper, and stock) into a blender
2. Begin to blend.
3. Slowly add stock and thin until you reach your desired consistency.
4. Season to taste.
5. Finish with smoked paprika, sweet and salty pumpkin seeds, and cinnamon

Pumpkin Puree

This is a great recipe to add to anything and make it “Thanksgiving” themed. I’ve been using this in a lot of my recipes, and will be used in my next 4 installments. It's a really great thing to have around in the house as well, think of it almost like canned tomatoes and you'll be surprised of where your creativity takes you. 

Pumpkins are a really awesome flavoring agent because it’s kind of sweet and savory, combined with the spices in the puree, it adds a great complexity to any dish.

You can also use this as a soup easily by adding a few quarts of stock and 1 cup rice and 1 cup black beans to the base recipe. Finish it with some cheese, drizzle of sour cream, herb, and toasted squash nuts. You will need to season this to taste. I’d suggest using some orange juice or apple cider as well.

Add eggs, cream cheese/mascarpone cheese, and sugar; and turn it into a pie. Put it on a cookie crust and top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of ginger powder and cinnamon. 

You’re possibilities are endless with this great flavor base. Use it for an equal substitute with canned pumpkin in any recipe to make it your own.

Pumpkin Puree

Prep time: 10-15 minutes

Cook time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

2 quarts diced pumpkin

¼ stick butter

1 bay leaf

1 stick cinnamon (or 1 Tablespoon ground)

1 clove (or 1/4 tsp ground)

½ tsp nutmeg (ground or fresh grated)

¼ tsp coriander

1 Tablespoon fresh grated ginger (or 1 1/2 T ground)

Directions:

1. Put a medium pot over the fire on medium heat
2. Melt the butter down with the spices
3. Once the butter starts to brown and the spices infuse, add the pumpkin.
4. Switch the temperature to medium-low
5. Stir mixture occasionally until squash breaks down like this
   
   
   
   
   
6. Transfer mixture to a blender and puree until smooth
7. Pass through a fine mesh strainer to make sure product is smooth
8. Return to the pot and allow reducing until it starts caramelizing (turning brown)