It seems everyone loves a good squash soup recipe. While I’m out in Jasper, I thought I’d share a really simple soup I made last week – roasted pumpkin and pear – not earth-shattering, but simple and delicious, especially topped with crumbled goat cheese, which kept its shape and then melted into the hot soup. This version is sweet and plain, but you could spice it up with a spoonful of curry paste, and of course swap any thick-skinned winter squash for the pumpkin. Butternut’s nice, and easy to peel.
If you find yourself with a particularly nubbly-skinned squash, roast it in wedges – the flesh will peel away easily once cooked.
Roasted Pumpkin & Pear Soup with Goat Cheese
1 small sugar pumpkin or butternut squash
2 ripe pears
canola oil
a dab of butter
1 small onion
1-inch knob of ginger, peeled and chopped
1 L chicken or vegetable stock
salt
goat cheese, for garnish
Preheat the oven to 425F. Peel and chop the pumpkin or squash and spread out on a rimmed baking sheet. If you like, core and quarter the pears and add them to the sheet too. Drizzle everything with oil and toss with your fingers to coat. Roast for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice, or until soft and golden on the edges.
In a medium saucepan or small pot, heat a drizzle of oil with a blob of butter over medium-high heat and saute the onion for a few minutes, until soft. Add the ginger and cook for another minute. Add the roasted squash and pears (if they’re raw, just chop and toss them in, skins and all) and enough stock to cover. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, or until everything is very soft. Add a big pinch of salt and puree with a hand-held immersion blender (or transfer in batches to a regular blender) until smooth. Serve hot, sprinkled with crumbled goat cheese.
Serves 4-6.
November 11 2012 | freezable and soup and vegetarian | 12 Comments »
This week has been a blur. I don’t think I’ve cooked dinner once, and rarely have I even remembered that I forgot to. I did, however, remember to make a batch of Frozen Elvises – yes, frozen bananas on a stick, dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with salty peanuts and crumbled bacon. (This morning, the morning after the night before, Mike found his iPad sitting on top of one of these.)
There was a birthday lunch with a lemon tart at the Vin Room – many parties, in fact. ‘Tis the season.
Tonight there was a block party one street over with sidewalk hangman.
But mostly it has been Stampede stuff – 8 live shows at the grounds in the Kitchen Theatre, events, early morning shows, and late nights helping with our school fundraiser. Since our 100 year old sandstone school is right behind the Stampede grounds and Scotsman’s Hill, every year instead of selling chocolates or wrapping paper we host parking on our grounds for those going to the Stampede, the grandstand show, or coming to watch the fireworks. Parents volunteer, as do community members (some of whom don’t even have kids in the school anymore), and some of the kids help, and through our collective efforts we’re able to raise a good chunk of money for school programs. All good.
This year my sister, the one who lives across the street, has organized it all – 140 volunteer shifts over 10 days – and has been down there herself every morning at 8:15, has spent the better part of the past 10 days of her summer holiday onsite and has closed up every night, staying until midnight or beyond. (She’s a single mom superhero – without a cape or tights.) If you’re in Calgary, you may have heard she was robbed earlier this week during the fireworks – an ugly situation that brought out the best in people. Community members dropped by with donations to make up for the loss: Missing Link Sausage and Four Cats Art Studio brought generous checks. Kids came by with change from their piggy banks. An elderly man who had attended the school earlier this century walked over with fifteen dollars – so much evidence of all the good there is in people. (I’ve been getting goosebumpy all week, and now it’s 2am and I’m getting punchy – there are far more expressive adjectives, but I can’t think of them.)
Hope you’re having a happy summer! We sure are.
July 15 2012 | freezable and snacks | 5 Comments »
