Thursday, October 1, 2009

Summer Squash Soup

A few years ago I signed up for a really awesome produce delivery service called Boston Organics. Every other week I got a big box of organic and/or local produce and had to figure out what the hell to do with it. One day I got a fairly copious amount of yellow squash and, having never really cooked with it, just made something up. It turned out quite delicious and I have since put it in the regular line up due to it's simplicity and its low cost. Here it go:

4 yellow squash, sliced
2 T. butter*
2 T. canola oil
1 medium shallot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 sprigs of thyme
1 c. milk (soy, almond, cow)
1/3 c. sliced almonds, toasted
1 package tempeh
salt and pepper
parsley

Using half the butter and oil, saute the squash in a large pan until soft and golden. Once all squash is cooked, remove from pan and set aside. Saute shallots and garlic in remaining oil and add to cooked squash. Add remaining oil and butter to pan and crumble tempeh into the pan, cook on medium high until golden and crispy on the outside. While tempeh cooks, place squash mixture, thyme, and milk into a blender and puree until smooth. If the temperature has reduced too much, place back on the stove to reheat. Add almonds and season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with tempeh and parsley for garnish.



So obviously I've made this before and thus I think it's pretty good. This go around wasn't quite as good as I've made it in the past and I'm not sure why. Could have been the use of soymilk rather than my usual cow milk and cream. I think next time I might try almond milk as it has a bit of sweetness that may compliment the dish a little better. Also, this is a good base to play around with. I'm sure it would be great with some green beans, bacon (what isn't good with bacon?), or even red bell peppers if you're into that sort of thing, which I am not. So, give this one a try, it's super easy and fast.

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