roasted squash and veggie soup (crema di zucca)

In another moment of weakness (culinary voyeur that he is), bob acquired another photo-filled cookbook. A thick full page photo of cream of squash soup (crema di zucca!) sank the hook this time. Yellow squash. From the summer category of squash. But it was a winter squash season. Our lactose intolerant guest forced some other modifications here as well. Kill the cream. Pass on the parmesan. Ready the lactaid 100 (percent free of lactose presumably). Break open the butternut squash.

We consulted around for ideas. Discovered a great new vegetarian cookbook on our own new book shelf that had escaped our notice since its arrival, in which a pressure cooker recipe suggested that oatmeal might help thicken the soup. Our concoction seems rather thick on its own and so probably does not need this ingredient, but it can't do any harm. More fiber. And bob had read somewhere about roasting veggies to "bring out their flavor." So that idea was also added to the list.

ingredients

roasted veggie group
1 medium butternut squash, cut lengthwise in half
1 leek, trimmed of the unusable parts
1 large carrot, peeled
1 large celery stalk
1 large whole onion with skin
1 small whole head garlic, cut open across top
olive oil spray
freshly ground black pepper
broth group
2 c boiling water plus 2 t veggie broth paste
1/4 c Quaker oats
3 c lowfat milk (Lactaid if ...)
spice group
1/2 t white pepper
black pepper to taste, freshly ground
salt to taste

instructions

  1. Place the cleaned whole veggies on a cookie sheet (we lined it with aluminum foil) and spray with olive oil and grind black pepper over them. Roast 1 hour at 350°, then food process with 1 c milk.
  2. Meanwhile add the broth paste to 2 c boiling water and then the oats and continue boiling maybe 15, 20 minutes. Puree with a hand blender if oats are not convincingly soft.
  3. Combine with pureed veggies and remaining milk and spices and hand blend smooth.
  4. Heat through and serve.

notes

  1. The day before we had had a bowl of some wonderful thick carrot bisque with red pepper sauce swirled on top. So we found a jar of red pepper paste in supplies and used that as a serving garnish. Good contrast.
  2. We were happy campers after this.
  3. When we reheated the leftover soup, we added some milk to loosen it up a bit, since it naturally thickens in the fridge. This thickening characteristic makes it a possible candidate for a pasta sauce. Why not?
rsqvgsp.htm: 7-aug-2001 [what, ME cook? © 1984 dr bob enterprises]