Happy New Year to all! As we emerge from our post-holiday, December-induced food/sugar coma, lamenting the fact that we cannot subsist on a diet of Breakfast Poutine, Chocolate Barks and holiday cookies year round. (insert mournful moment of silence here), our thoughts and attention turn to the seemingly disparate tasks of healthier eating and seeking out heartier fare to combat the cold winter months ahead. This recipe tends to both of those tasks almost effortlessly. It is a variation on last year’s Cauliflower Soup, which was our take on one of Food52’s “Genius Recipes,” and every time we make that recipe, we are flabbergasted by the simplicity of creating a rich, flavorful and deeply comforting soup with so few ingredients and so little work.
Not only is the original soup an exercise in satisfying elegance, it is gluten and soy free, vegan, and the perfect blank canvas for a wide variety of equally simple adaptations. This wonderfully nutritious version showcases the beautiful flavors and color of butternut squash.
Kyle opted to roast the squash instead of simmering it with the other vegetables. It was a genius move, as usual. Not only does this impart even greater depth of flavor to the finished soup with all of those wonderful caramel notes, it also eliminates the tedium and difficulty of peeling and dicing the raw squash. Not fun. All you have to do is halve it, seed it, give it a drizzle of oil and a little salt and pepper and once it’s thoroughly cooked, the roasted flesh just spoons right out of the skin.
And in case you’re wondering how you can have a bowl of creamy deliciousness without any cream, the answer is cauliflower. Simmered, softened, puréed cauliflower. It’s that simple. Seriously, with every batch, we marvel anew at how the combination of cauliflower, onion, water, olive oil, salt and pepper can be so sumptuous. If we didn’t make it ourselves, we would never believe it.
Also, while the squash is in the oven, it gives you just enough time to prep and cook the cauliflower and onions, so everything is ready to be blended together at about the same time. Done and done. One of the things we love about the purely cauliflower version of this soup is how it highlights the simple, unadulterated flavor of the vegetable. The same can be said of this version.
The flavor of the squash really shines through, and with a splash of fruity olive oil, a sprinkling of sea salt and a crack of fresh black pepper for garnish, you have a delicious, filling, warming bowl of soup in which you can indulge freely—even joyfully—without sacrificing any of your resolutions.
Unless, of course, one of your resolutions is to eat more terrible food this year, in which case we can’t help you. We’re Foodies. That would be against our religion. Enjoy!
Inspired by Food52 Genius Recipes.
- 1 medium butternut squash (about 2 pounds)
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion (6 ounces), thinly sliced
- 1 head very fresh cauliflower (about 1-1/2 pounds), broken into florets
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 5 cups water, divided
- Extra virgin olive oil, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice butternut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Drizzle flesh of squash with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Lay squash, cut side down, on prepared baking sheet and cut holes through the skin of the squash with the tip of a sharp knife. Roast squash for 50 to 60 minutes, or until tender. Remove from the oven and let cool.
- While the squash roasts, warm the remaining olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan. Sweat the onion in the olive oil over low heat without letting it brown for 15 minutes.
- Add the cauliflower, salt, and ½ cup water. Raise the heat slightly, cover the pot tightly and stew the cauliflower for 15 to 18 minutes, or until tender. Then add another 4½ cups hot water, bring to a low simmer and cook an additional 20 minutes uncovered.
- When the squash is cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh from the skin and add to the pot.
- Puree the soup with an immersion blender, or, working in batches, purée the soup in a blender to a very smooth, creamy consistency. Let the soup stand for 20 minutes. In this time it will thicken slightly.
- Reheat the soup. Serve hot, drizzled with a thin stream of extra-virgin olive oil, flaky sea salt, and some freshly ground black pepper.
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