Butternut Squash and Leek Soup
1 whole garlic head or 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
olive oil, as needed
1 medium butternut squash, halved
salt and pepper, to taste
6 cups leeks (about 4 large), thinly sliced
2 cups water
2 cups vegetable broth
cayenne pepper, to taste
nutmeg, to taste
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. If using a head of garlic, remove papery skin from garlic head but do not peel or separate the cloves. Wrap head in foil. Bake for 1 hour. Cool 10 minutes. Separate cloves, squeeze to extract garlic pulp. Discard skins.
2. Place squash on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with oil, salt and pepper, and bake 1 hour. Remove the butternut squash from oven. Remove skin and cut into cubes.
3. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add leeks, saute 5-10 minutes, or until tender. Add garlic, saute 1-3 minutes. Add squash, saute 5-10 minutes. Add water, broth, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer 10 minutes or until squash is tender.
4. Place part of squash mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid to allow steam to escape. Place a paper towel or clean kitchen towel over the opening. Blend until smooth. Repeat procedure until all soup is pureed.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
this probably would have been a pretty yummy soup as is, but the cayenne sprinkled out of my container a little too fast and made this super spicy! i added a bunch of cinnamon, extra nutmeg, and some canned coconut milk to try to compensate, but it was still too spicy. my fault entirely, of course. i still ate it, but i added a bunch more canned coconut milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, extra squash, and some great northern beans the next day and it turned out fantastic!
the next time i make this, i'll make sure to take just a pinch of cayenne out of my spice bag (from the bulk section of my co-op) instead of trying to sprinkle it in. ;P loved the addition of the roasted garlic... even if it *was* a bit messy!
This was a delicious soup! I halved the amount of leeks, only using two, and added a few splashes of almond milk at the finish to thin it a bit.
I forgot to add that I also added an ear of roasted sweet corn to my bowl after pureeing! It was fresh and local so I couldn't resist!
This was a delicious soup! I halved the amount of leeks, only using two, and added a few splashes of almond milk at the finish to thin it a bit.
This is my first review! Delicious soup! Very creamy and rich, kind of sweet. Thank you!
We had this tonight and it the perfect accompaniment to fresh home made bread and a salad. We roasted the squash with a little bit of brown sugar in the inside, and was a nice sweet compliment against the cayenne. The butternut squash I got was a little small, so we roasted some carrots along with the squash and added some fresh chopped parsley as a garnish. We will definitely make it again!
This was great. I added some allspice in addition to the nutmeg which gave it a pumpkin pie taste. I also used a heirloom sweetmeat pumpkin instead of the butternut.... Thank you~!
Wow! This soup is incredibly tasty. The roasted garlic, butternut squash and leeks compliment each other wonderfully. The cayenne pepper adds a delightful kick.