Bento

Author: ex.libris Status: published Published: Jan 31,2009 license cc-by-nc-nd tags: Food, Rice, Yum, Peas, Salad, Bento, Lunch, Soy Sauce, Carrots, Mr Bento, Steak, BBQ Sauce, Broccoli, Obento, Roasted Butternut Squash Soup, Bento Boxes, Lunchbox, Mr Bento Porn, 0   Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Made roasted butternut squash soup.

Here is the recipe for it. I made it up, although it can't be too different from many other recipes for this type of thing. I use organic chicken stock by Imagine.

1 medium to large butter nut squash
olive oil
1 large onion
1 medium garlic
3 carrots
several large handfuls of dried shiitake mushrooms
a bit of white wine
3-4 celery stalks
little bit of heavy cream
chicken stock
spices: brown sugar, cinnamon, bay leaf, thyme, nutmeg, salt, pepper, paprika

First roast the squash in a hottish oven—475 degrees, maybe. To roast, first cut in half and cut in half again. To assure that the squash is all the way cooked, however, especially if it’s a big squash, cut the long part in half again. Be sure you put them on a try lined with foil, because I didn’t and now my tray is stained. I put olive oil all over mine instead of butter because butter has a low smoking point and I was roasting at high heat for a long time. Cover well with the oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and a bit of brown sugar. Not too much or it will burn everywhere. Roast for about an hour checking after 45 minutes. Take out and set aside to cool while you start cooking the soup.

While the squash is roasting, chop up an onion and a bit of garlic. Leeks would be nice, too, but remember to slice and soak them to get rid of grit. Chop some carrots and celery and set aside. It does not matter if the chopped veggies look nice because it’s all going to be puréed, so don’t kill yourself mincing them.

Get your soup pot and add enough oil for all the onions and garlic and later the celery. Start cooking them over medium heat. Add salt, pepper, thyme, a bay leaf, and other seasonings if it strikes your fancy. Sauté over medium low heat for a long time. We want the onions all cooked down and caramelized but we don’t want to scorch the garlic so it turns all bitter.

After a while when the onions are all cooked down and golden, add the celery. Cook down a bit more. Add the carrots and the chicken stock. Toss in the mushrooms. Add the wine. Cook till carrots and celery are soft. The mushrooms need to be simmered for at least a half hour. That will also give time for the alcohol to cook off. Scoop the roasted squash flesh in and bring back to a simmer. Take off the heat.

Right now is a great time to break out the immersion blender, if you have one, or to carefully start ladling it into a blender. Blend, and add more stock or water as necessary to keep stock from being too thick. Blend as you like.

I add a bit of heavy cream. I add it, stir, taste, and add more if I think it needs it. I grate in some nutmeg and cinnamon and add paprika. Delicious!

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