A Bounty of Choices Still Remain at the Farmers’ Market
As the leaves turn and a chill is in the air, the bounty of fall harvest is still available at your local farmers’ market.
The variety is less, but there is still plenty to choose from including beans, lettuce, various squashes, pumpkins and root vegetables. The possibilities for recipes are abundant – as many as your culinary creativity can invent.
Instead of using squash as a side dish to a protein or starch, the root vegetables can become a hearty soup, the main ingredient in a salad, tasty bread, or the main course for lunch, dinner or even desserts. Squashes and pumpkins can spice up a standard menu by using the vegetables in sautes, risottos, and purees. Experiment with using the earthy sweet taste of squash as a substitute for other ingredients in your favorite recipe.
Pumpkins allow for a variety of recipes and the pumpkin itself can be used as a serving bowl, the seeds can be toasted for crunchy snack and the insides can become a wonderful pie or pudding. Soup is a standard favorite and acorn squash is one of the most common varieties but any winter squash or pumpkin can be substituted and the results are equally as good. The following recipe is easy, elegant and allows the flavor of the squash to show itself.
Acorn Squash Soup
yield: 8 servings
- 1 acorn squash (about 3#), poked in two places with a small knife
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled, trimmed and finely chopped
- 4 Tablespoons chopped parsley, split use
- Approximately 6 cups chicken stock, heated
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1/3 cup each sour cream, heavy cream
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Place the whole squash in the oven and bake until very soft. Remove from oven. When cool enough to handle, halve, scrape out seeds, peel off skin and coarsely mash the meat. Reserve.
In a 3 quart soup pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add the onion, a pinch of salt and saute until soft and translucent,being careful not to brown. Add the garlic and half the parsley and continue to gently saute until the garlic becomes fragrant, being careful not to brown.
Add squash, along with another good pinch of salt and stir to combine. Pour enough hot stock to cover the squash mixture by 1/2″. Bring to a gentle simmer, season with salt and simmer until flavors meld, about 10 minutes.
Puree the soup in the blender, in batches, and strain through a bowl strainer into a clean pot. Bring to just a simmer, whisk in the sour cream and heavy cream and adjust the consistency with more hot stock, if necessary. Do not re-boil once sour cream has been added. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper and remove from heat. Serve hot, garnished with remaining parsley.
Recipe provided by: Chef Shellie Kark, KitchenCUE
KitchenCUE simply allows everyone to be able to cook like a professional at home! Use healthy, fresh ingredients, be economical, cook with what you have on hand and prepare a healthy meals with ease and confidence! O, The Oprah Magazine highlights KitchenCUE to help you live your best life. Take your cooking to the next level! Visit us at http://www.kitchencue.com
KitchenCUE is an interactive DVD series that lets you take your cooking to the next level. By distilling techniques down into a few easy steps, you will get the results you want…every time. Understand what happens in the pan and make your recipe books better, enjoy your kitchens more and easily add variety to your meal routine. Spice up your cooking with Chef Shellie and KitchenCUE! Visit us online at http://www.kitchencue.com
