Squash Soup Recipe

My good friend Sarah Hatton always has great ideas for the vegetables we get from our local community-supported agriculture subscription, and recently we’ve been getting a lot of squash. This recipe works well with summer and butternut squash, and probably others that we just haven’t tried yet!

Ingredients:

• 1 medium squash
• chicken or vegetable stock
• coriander powder
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup half & half
• salt and pepper
• browned tofu (optional)
• sour cream or yogurt (optional)
• scallion or cilantro for garnish (optional)

Peel and seed squash and chop into approx. 3″ chunks. Place in pot and fill with stock to cover squash. Add onion, carrots, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, and as much coriander powder as you like (Sarah adds a lot, about 3tbsp). Cover and boil for at least 40 minutes, until the squash is very soft. remove cinnamon stick and bay leaf before blending soup with an immersion (stick) blender. If you don’t have one, you can (carefully!) transfer the hot contents of the pot into a traditional blender. Blend until very smooth. Add half & half and salt and pepper to taste. We tried adding sauteed tofu, which added some protein and gave an interesting texture contrast. Serve with a large dollop of yogurt or sour cream and garnish with chopped scallion or cilantro. As a dipping medium you can use a toasted bagel or pita. If you have any suggestions for modifications, post them in the comments!