Friday, January 22, 2010

Warming

P1010063a1 Nothing beats a nice cup of soup on a cold and rainy day.

P1010066y Today it is an acorn and butternut squash with potato soup, served with a side of San Francisco Style French bread – with a “smidge” of butter, of course. :)

P1010069z Just dip in the bread – my favorite part…..

P1010074x …take a bite..sit back..and enjoy.

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Awhile back I had a wonderful butternut squash and potato soup at a Greek restaurant in a town far from home. I loved the soup so much and wanted more, so the next day I came home and made up my own recipe. It was pretty close to the restaurant's, too!

Acorn Squash, Butternut Squash and Potato Soup

You will need:

1 acorn squash

1 butternut squash

4 russet potatoes

12 - 16 oz chicken broth

1 cup half and half

1/4 - 1 cup water

1 onion ~ finely chopped

4 cloves garlic ~ finely chopped

2 Tblsp canola oil

hot sauce

salt – to taste

pepper – to taste

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Cut the squash in half. Lay them face down in a glass baking dish. Add about an inch of water, cover with tin foil. Bake at 350 for about an hour, or until the squash are tender. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Once cool, scoop out the inside of the squash and put into a large mixing bowl.

Peel and cube the potatoes. Boil them in water until tender. Add to the squash.

Sauté the onion and garlic in 2 Tblsp of oil until the onions are soft and translucent. Add to the squash and potato mixture. Mix all of the ingredients together. If you prefer a smooth texture to the soup, then smash all ingredients together with a large mixing spoon. I like my soup a little chunky so I only smashed a wee bit.

Place the mixture in a large pot on the stove. Add the chicken broth, half and half, 1/4 tsp hot sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce the heat to simmer and cover with a lid. As the soup cooks down, you may need to add some water. At first the soup may appear thin, but as it cooks it will thicken. I cooked mine for about 2-3 hours, stirring every so often. It is best when thick, as shown in my photos.

Depending on what you like, you can add more hot sauce or omit the hot sauce and add white pepper to taste.

Serve the soup in a bowl or cup and top with paprika and fresh ground pepper. A little bit of shaved Parmesan is fantastic, too!

37 comments:

Blondie's Journal said...

I have never even IMAGINED a soup like this and all I can say is it looks and sounds delicious. I have to try it. Oh yes, with JUST a smidgen of butter! ;-)

Thanks, Becky!

xoxo
Janie

Susan Freeman said...

Soup sounds like a wonderful idea on a day like this. We have a gray and rain with snow type of day. Did we get your rain?

Susan
xxoo

Denise said...

Yum!!!!!! I am having butternut squash tonight.. with steamed asparagus and grilled salmon! OMG. Now I am hungry..... I must try your soup one day.. I love the flavor of the butternut.... Come summer we eat a lot of such!

Praying that the rain is not washing you away.........

Claudia said...

My stomach is growling! Ummm - that looks delicious!

xo
Claudia

BALLET NEWS said...

oh that looks so good I can smell it already. Apparently having soup at lunchtime changes your life ! I am keen to try it !!!

Donna said...

I have made potato soup numerous times but have not tried butternut squash. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Blessings,
Donna

Sandy said...

It looks delicious! Yummy!

Teacup Lane (Sandy)

Rocky Creek Scotties and Rocky Creek Ramblings said...

This looks delicious. I'd love to come by for lunch.

Colleen said...

That looks SO comforting and yummy. I am picking up the ingredients tomorrow to make it. Thank you for sharing it with us!!!

Colleen :)

Vee said...

My grandmother adores squash soup. I've made it for her once, but I will certainly give this one a try so that she can enjoy some variety.

(I'm doing a food post tomorrow. After seeing your yummy photos, I'm feeling very humbled. :D )

Sweet Bee Cottage said...

Yummmm! I have been a homemade soup binge too with all this rainy weather. Nothing's better on a cold rainy night - throw in a toasty warm panini and your insides feel like they've been wrapped in flannel pajamas. I am definitely going to try this recipe. Again - yummmmm!

Julie said...

wow that looks scrumptious. I will have to try it. I have to confess I have never used butternut or acorn squash before.... :-o
So this will be fun. And I have a weakness for butter on crusty breads... sigh.
Thanks for the recipe and tempting pictures.
Have a great weekend.

The Decorating Diaries said...

Looks De-lish! I can't wait to give this a try. My hubby and I both love soup.

Janet

Joanne Kennedy said...

YUM! I wish I had a bowl of that right now for dinner. It's cold and raining and it sounds perfect! It looks nice and thick too. Oh and that bread.....YUMMY!

Hugs
Joanne

Anonymous said...

Becky that sounds delicious. I have never had soup like that but I think I am going to make that.

Hugs,
LeAnn:)

Sissie's Shabby Cottage said...

Looks delicious. Nothing like soup to warm you up.
That looks like more than a smidgen of butter, I personally like about a half a stick on mine!

Miss Jean said...

Butternut Squash soup is my favorite! But I have to have two smidges of butter on my bread. This is one recipe I'll for sure try.

Elsie said...

OOOWWeee~Becky that sounds good. I
will have to try that. That is
perfect for a cold rainy day. We
actually had sun today yea!!:O)

Cindy said...

Yum. I hear ya. French Onion is my fave, but this looks really good too!

-c
yapping cat

Lisa said...

Becky,
It's late, I'm in bed & that soup is making me hungry! Yum, I'm going to have to try it. Hope your drying up today. I haven't seen the news. Lisa
PS Thanks for the sweet comment.

Mimi Sue said...

I love butternut squash and I love soup so I'd better give this a try. Perfect weather for it. Mimi

Sandy, Sisters of Season said...

Looks delicious . . . too pretty to eat!

Shelby said...

most wonderful thing I've seen all day :)

scrmptious!!!!!!!!!

Unknown said...

YUM! I make a squash soup at Thanksgiving...I love it. Yours looks delish!!! I might just have to give this a try... uuummmm :)

~Liz

krys kirkpatrick said...

Coming from a swedish ancestory...nothing is served without...a smidgen of either butter or whipping cream! Looks declicious, and your blog is lovely.

Unknown said...

Oh that sounds so yummy! I'm going to try it! Thanks for sharing!

Dena said...

This soup sounds so good Becky! I think I'll make this for my guys this weekend. It's so chilly and this will warm their bones :) Did you get soaked out there? We've never seen so much rain! Boy are we going to have a pretty spring. I can't wait to see the blooms!

Hugs,
Dena

Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said...

This sounds delish! I love soup -- even during the summer. Tonite I made a spinach and white bean soup. I never follow a recipe to the tee -- just wing it as I go along. I like spice so always add extra to any recipe I try. Love your red transferware. Have a great day! Blessings :) Tammy

Into Vintage said...

Makes me wonder a little bit when it's raining down there and sunny up here! Have a wonderful weekend -amy

{Bellamere Cottage} said...

Sounds sooo good.

Warm blessings,
Spencer

{Bellamere Cottage} said...

PS.....I'm having a giveaway that totally reminds me of your style....

Come on over!

xoxox
Spence

Kathleen Grace said...

This looks so wonderful. I have been craving squash and I think I'll try it this way. Thank Becky:>)

Martine said...

That looks really yummie!

I made a chicken farmhouse chowder last weekend... I didn't make it as thick as regular clam chowder, more brothy. It was delicious, I love soup during this time of year!

Thanks for sharing the recipe!

martine

Kris said...

Thank you. It sounds wonderful. I will try it soon.

Molly the Airedale said...

Mom is drooling! What we wouldn't give to reach right through the computer screen and help ourselves! yumm

Love ya lots,
Maggie and Mitch

quiltingnana said...

looks so yummy!

Arda said...

I love your china!! Okay, the soup looks pretty good too :)

Arda