What happened to Spring? Another dreary day and chilly, only in the fifties (I wrote this 2 weeks ago – hey, life gets in the way! – and now we’ve had day after day close to 90 degrees). This recipe will seem out of season but with peas and new potatoes far off in the distance, there’s no time like today to use up any other winter squash that’s hanging from the winter.
Threw in a lingering sweet potato, a Granny Smith apple, a large onion and a tiny drizzle of oil over the onion. Roasted and pureed with a few cups of water, the soup needed some zing. I started in Spain with some cascabel dried peppers, then I veered towards Morocco for some nutmeg and cinnamon and then I went totally Egyptian with some dukkah for dipping some naan in (hello India!). We’ll avoid labeling this a fusion recipe and just look at it as armchair traveling.
The butternut squash and sweet potato melded beautifully into a silken puree. Sweet and mildly spicy, just the way I like it!
My husband Lewis is becoming increasingly intolerant of spicy food. Since I’m leaving him some soup for his return to Pennsylvania tonight, I only added a 1/4 teaspoon of dried hot pepper. The recipe for dukkah is at the end of my post on sea salt.
- 1 large red onion, cut on half crosswise
- 1 medium butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise
- 1 large sweet potato, cut in half lengthwise
- 1 Granny Smith apple, cut in half
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon ground Cascabel or New Mexico dried red pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Place the onion, squash and sweet potato cut side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Drizzle the olive oil over the onion.
- Roast in a 425 degree oven for 25=35 minutes, until the vegetables are soft and caramelized.
- Remove the skin and seeds from the squash apple, and sweet potato. Place in a stock pot and fill with water to just cover the vegetables. Add dried red pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and black pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the heat and puree with a handheld blender.
- Serve hot with naan, dukkah and extra hot pepper, if desired.
If you went by this blog, you would think I only consume orange food and weird beverages. It’s not true. Just wait for those Spring greens!
– Sheila
