Audra Lowe: Well, forget regular chicken or tomato soup, with the cold temperature arriving, how about a different flavor to keep you warm. Kristina shows us a tasty twist on veggie favorite.
Kristina Vanni: The perfect soup for fall, creamy roasted squash. Squash has such a rich nutty flavor and it is absolutely delicious in a soup and it doesn’t even matter which kind you choose. Just pick two and a half pounds of your favorite. From butternut to acorn, even pumpkin is great.
Whatever you pick, get started by roasting it. Split your squash in half lengthwise and then scoop out all the seeds and the strings inside there. Kind of get a little bit of muscle in there to get it all out.
Using a tablespoon is nice because you can get all the little strings out, now season it with a little bit of salt then put your squash flesh side down in a buttered baking dish. Add a half cup of water and then you will roast this in the oven at 350 degrees for about an hour and a half. You’ll know it’s done when you can poke it with a fork and it’s nice and tender.
While your squash is cooling off a little, melt two tablespoons of unsalted butter and add one and a half cups of leeks, season that with a little bit of salt and some dried oregano. I’m going to rub it in my hand to release all the oils and the flavor. Now, we’re going to cook this up just until the leeks are tender and translucent. It should take about ten minutes or so.
When your leeks are ready, they should look just about like this. And now for your squash.
Scoop out the flesh but avoid the skin because you don’t want the skin of the squash in your soup. Add that to the leeks and two cans of chicken broth and then you’re going to let the soup cool because we’re going to puree the soup, one half at a time in a blender.
Now once you’ve pureed your soup, pour it back in and then just bring it up to a simmer to make the soup really rich and creamy, add a quarter cup of half and a half and then a little nutmeg. You’re going to want to give your soup a little taste test to determine the seasoning. You could add a little salt or pepper, whatever it needs.
The great thing about this soup is that you can make it up to a couple of days in advance and then just reheat it when you’re ready to serve and the flavors, they get even richer. Serve it up in a beautiful bowl with a little drizzle of cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg, it’s just perfect
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