Not a name that rolls easily off the tongue, eh? What can I say? Brevity has never been a strong point of mine ….
Now, I understand that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet … and that a bisque by any other name would be just as spoon licking, lip smacking delicious … but it didn’t seem fair to reduce a soup with such a mélange of flavors to the everyday plain name of “butternut squash bisque.”
The logic behind this recipe:
Roasting the squash, potatoes, and apple deepens the complexity of their flavors. Caramelizing the onion brings out the sweetness of the onion, and pureeing it into this bisque adds another layer of flavor and heightens the taste in each spoonful. The pepita-pepper garnish serves to both add a bit of a kick to the sweet undertones of the soup and adds some texture to the smoothness of the bisque.
Don’t be intimidated by this dish’s long and complicated name – it’s a fairly simple, low-maintenance recipe that packs huge flavor. I will definitely be buying up lots of butternut squash this autumn just to make this soup again and again….
Enjoy!
Roasted Butternut Squash, Potato, Apple, and Caramelized Onion Bisque
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 medium sized butternut squash
3 red potatoes
1 red apple
1 onion
5 cups vegetable broth
1 cup almond milk ( I like the slight nutty flavor that almond milk lends ot this recipe, but feel free to sub any non-dairy milk)
1 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
½ tsp grated nutmeg
1 sprig fresh parsley leaves
Salt & pepper
1. Toss the squash, potatoes, and apple in 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a glass baking dish and roast in an oven that has been preheated to 400F for 45 minutes.
2. While the squash, potatoes, and apple are roasting, heat the remaining olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Caramelize the onion for 20-30 minutes, until golden brown.
3. After removing the baking dish from the oven, add the vegetables to five cups of vegetable stock and 1 cup of almond milk in a dutch oven. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Add the onion, maple syrup, ginger, nutmeg, parsley, salt and pepper to the soup mixture. Puree the mixture using a handheld immersion blender or a traditional blender until smooth. Serve topped with pepita-pepper garnish (recipe below).
Pepita-Poblano Garnish
1 tsp Earth Balance (or other non-dairy butter)
1/3 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1 small poblano pepper, diced
Melt the EB in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the pepitas and poblano and sauté, stirring often, for approximately 10 minutes.
Cooking at the Pacific Outpost 