Kuri Squash Soup with Kale Pesto

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February can bring many kinds of weather to us northcoasters:  The ubiquitous rain, of course; frosty mornings; sometimes snow, but also the occasional sunny day to remind us that spring is not far off, no matter what the groundhog saw in your neck of the woods.

So on a recent day, when the sun shone and the temperature reached a balmy 55-degrees, it occured to me that I should use up the remainder of the winter squashes whose presence on my kitchen counter throughout the winter months instills a sense of culinary bounty in my heart.

The squashes I used here were a combination of red kuri and one called Cinderella, which is a French variety, but you can use any orange winter squash that is available to you.  Mine were on the small side, so I used three of them.  I encourage you to use locally grown and organic if you can.

Got pesto?  Swirling a dollop into each serving makes for a nicely visual, and healthy presentation.

Kuri Squash Soup with Kale Pesto
Christine's original recipe
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Serves 6-8 generous portions
Ingredients:
5 lbs peeled and seeded deep orange squash, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 large yellow onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
4-6 small cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
1.5-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 very ripe Bosc pear, cored and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc (juice of 1 lemon may be substituted)
1 1/2 to 2 quarts home made or low sodium chicken stock
1 teaspoon porcini powder
1 tablespoon Italian herb blend
olive oil for the sauté (butter is optional)
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Preparation:
Assemble and prep your ingredients as listed above.
In a large soup pot, add about 1 tablespoon olive oil or unsalted butter, or a combination of both.
When the oil is hot, lower the heat to medium and add the chopped onions, garlic, ginger and pear.
Stir well and adjust the heat so things will not burn; cover and sweat for about 5 minutes or until the onions are very soft but not caramelized.
Pour in the white wine, scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen any stuck bits, then add the stock, squash, porcini powder and Italian herb mix.
Bring the mixture up to almost boiling, stir, lower the heat so the soup is maintained at a simmer, cover with a lid and allow to cook until the squash is very tender and falls apart when stuck with a fork.
Remove the soup from the heat and allow it to cool for about 5 minutes then purée it with an immersion blender until it is very, very smooth.
Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper if you choose.  Stir well.
Serve with a dollop of kale pesto swirled in and enjoy.

The Italian herb mix that I reach for during the winter months is made by Frontier. It's organic and is available at many natural food stores and co-ops and also in my Amazon Store.

I use a locally made dried porcini powder from the Arcata-based company Hasta be Pasta and I just found out it can be purchased from Amazon so I've put it in my Amazon Store.
The bosc pear:  It had been left on the counter too long and was becoming way too soft for eating out of hand. And while the chickens would have thought it a great treat, it made a nice addition to this soup. What the heck: a squash is a fruit; a pear is a fruit. It worked. End of story.

Copyright © 2005-2012, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Winter Squash Soup with Ginger, Turmeric, Meyer Lemon, Sage and Crimini Mushrooms

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Okay. That's a long title, I admit. But I wanted to catch your attention because this soup is everything you could possibly want and need in the depths of winter. It is made completely with ingredients from the top 100 of the World's Healthiest Foods list. It's packed with anti-oxidents, vitamins A and C, Omega 3s and B vitamins. Anti-inflammatory and cancer fighting properties abound. It's low in fat and sodium. In short, it's a heart warming, good for what ails you bowl of goodness.

I put this together, from the two whole squashes sitting on my counter waiting to be peeled and cut to this hot steamy bowl, in just under two hours. Quick and easy enough for a weeknight meal.

Healthy ingredient number one: Meyer lemons. Use all the juice, it brightens the soup and adds a healthy dose of vitamin C. And remember to save the zest to sprinkle over hot steamed green beans or to add to your lemon cake. You will be making lemon cake, won't you?

Healthy ingredients numbers two and three: Fresh ginger and fresh turmeric (forgive the photo). They warm you up on a cold day empowering you with their healthy goodness.

Garnish with sautéed crimini mushrooms. Generously. Don't forget the onions and garlic. A winter soup just wouldn't be without them.

And, of course, the star of the evening, winter squash. You can use Red Kuri, Red Kabocha, Cinderella or other bright orange winter squash. They have dense, dry meat and purée to a velvety smoothness. Plus the good-for-you stuff in these babies will boost your immune system and get you through the winter.

There's one more healthy ingredient in this soup that deserves a sentence all its own: sage. An anti-oxident, anti-inflammatory brain booster, there's a reason that sage is most often used in cold weather recipes. After you've visited all the links and read about the health properties of these ingredients, do come back and make some for yourself, and your loved ones.

Winter Squash Soup with Ginger, Turmeric, Meyer Lemon, Sage and Crimini Mushrooms
Christine's original recipe
Print recipe
Ingredients:
2 medium red Kuri squash, peeled, seeded and cut into small chunks
1 medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
7 cups water, or just enough to barely cover the squash
1 tablespoon fresh turmeric, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon dried sage, crushed
juice of 1 Meyer lemon (1/4 to 1/3 cup if they're as big as mine)
8-10 crimini or shiitake mushrooms, thickly sliced, sauteed in olive oil
Preparation:

Peel, seed and cut the squash. See this link for instructions. Set aside.
Heat about 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat then add the chopped onions and garlic. Saute until softened and slightly golden. Don't allow the garlic to burn.
Add the squash, turmeric, ginger, sage and water, and simmer until the squash is tender, about 30 minutes.
Off heat, using your immersion blender (What? You still don't have one? Well then use a food processor), purée the soup until it's all velvety smooth and no pieces are left. The soup will thicken as you do this.
Still off heat, add the Meyer lemon juice until it all tastes just right.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with slices of sauteed mushrooms. Listen to those YUMS!

Cook's Notes:

I opted to season this soup with the lemon juice, letting the heat of the ginger and turmeric shine and avoiding the addition of salt entirely. If you are going to salt the soup, I suggest passing a good sea salt such as Sel de Guérande or Maldon around the table so folks can add their own if they wish.

Copyright © 2005-2008, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Pork & Butternut Squash Stew

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Winter is not settling down for a long nap here on the north coast. It's cold, rainy, foggy and definitely winter-y. What better comfort on such a day than to walk into the house and be greeted by the smells of a stew simmering away on the stove? Well, maybe curling up with a good book, a hot cup of tea, and a blanket tucked around you while those heady aromas waft around your head, huh? Better than visions of sugar plums.

This recipe doesn't have exact measurements, though I'll try to approximate. I just started with the pork and the butternut squash and went from there, adding this and that until I felt it was done.

2 pounds boneless pork loin or 2 pounds boneless pork loin chops, about 1 inch thick, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 large, sweet onion, chopped into 1/2 inch dice
7 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped fine
1 medium to large butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch cubes
2 apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2 inch dice
2 cans of your favorite white beans, drained
2 cups or so of chicken stock or a combination of liquids (in addition to the chicken stock, I used some Six Rivers Brewery Autumn Ale that was left over and topped it off with some apple cider)
2 bay leaves
4 fresh sage leaves, roughly chopped
ground cloves (especially if you use apple cider as part of your liquid)
salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet over med-high heat, brown the meat all over in batches in a little olive oil. As each batch is browned, transfer it to a stew pot (I used a crock pot this time as I was going to leave the house as soon as the stew was assembled and wanted it to cook unattended).
Adding a little more olive oil and lowering the heat to medium, cook the onions until tender and golden. Add to the stew pot. Cook the garlic 2-3 minutes, taking care not to burn it and add it to the pot.
Deglaze the skillet with a bit of liquid, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom. Pour all of it into the pot.
To the pot add:
cubed squash
diced apple
1/4 to 1/2 tsp ground cloves
coarsly chopped sage leaves
bay leaves
the white beans

Mix all this together gently, adding enough liquid that will allow the meat to braise and all the ingredients to fall together into a stew. Add salt and pepper to taste, bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover pot and simmer for about 2 hours or until pork is fall apart tender.