Autumn Bisque
or, what to do with Winter Squash
We turn them into golden bowls of goodness, for one thing! This particular soup is the perfect Autumn immune system tonic because of the garlic, ginger and pepper.
We got this beautiful Seminole Squash from Piedmont Biofarms. It weighed 3.75 pounds and yielded 3.75 cups or 1.7 pounds of roasted squash. That’s one cup of flesh per 1 pound of squash.
We cut it into quarters and scrape out the seeds, then bake at 350 on a 9″ x 15″ pan for 30 minutes or until a fork easily pierces the skin and flesh. You can discard the seeds or save to roast. See below.
Next step – remove the skin by either peeling it off (sometimes it just comes away easily) or scraping the flesh away from the skin.
Now to turn it into soup! Here are the ingredients:
- Sweet potato – 1 1/5 pounds or about 3 cups peeled
- Chicken Broth – 2 cups
- Onion – 1/2 large, chopped
- Lemon Juice – 1/2 lemon
- Garlic – 5 large cloves, minced
- Habanero Pepper – 1/2, minced
- Ginger – thumb sized piece, grated fine or minced
- Coconut Milk – 2 cups
- Squash – 3 cups
- Parsley and/or Chives – small bunches, chopped
- Sour Cream – vegan or otherwise
Procedure – Simmer Sweet Potato, Onion, Garlic, Ginger and Pepper in Chicken Broth until potato is fork tender. Add the Coconut Milk and cooked Squash. Blend until smooth (this is the bisque part) with immersible blender. Simmer for ten minutes. Turn off the heat and add the parsley and/or chives. Serve with Sour Cream.
Substitutions – Carrots instead of sweet potato or in addition to. Cayenne, chipotle pepper, hot sauce, etc in lieu of habanero (we just happen to have a nice crop of habaneros in our garden this year.)
And now for the seeds. Separate the seeds from the pulp and toss them in a bowl with a splash of sesame oil, soy sauce and a dash of pepper. Spread them on a cookie sheet and roast for 15 to 20 minutes at 350. Serve and eat. You can roast them along with the squash and take advantage of the hot oven.
Other ways to use Winter Squash
- Roast wedges and serve with butter, salt and a pinch of brown sugar – no peeling required
- Add to any soup or stew – especially delicious in Brunswick Stew
- Make a pie – use exactly as you would canned pumpkin