Five Orange Butternut Squash Bisque
Sunday, December 5, 2010 by Alexandra
One of my absolute favorite things to make during the fall to winter months, is some sort of pureed bisque soup made from butternut squash. I usually try to do some sort of variation involving other starches as well as interesting fruit flavors to give it another dimension. It's one of those soups where you can be creative with different ingredients you probably already have laying around anyways.
I haven't made it much this fall as I've been disappointed in the sizes of butternut squash that I've seen at Kroger and the market. It's very healthy, filling, and tastes amazing!
My boyfriend jokingly called it five orange bisque as I was making it - included are the flavors of butternut squash bisque, sweet potatoes, carrots, mango, and orange.
Five Orange Butternut Squash Bisque
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup diced white onion
- 3/4 cup diced carrots
- 1 large butternut squash, roasted and cubed
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- Sprigs of fresh rosemary, sage, and thyme
- 1/2 cup mango juice (I use the Bolthouse brand
)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream (this can be left out easily if you don't want the fat)
- salt & pepper to taste
- Orange for zesting
My method of making this soup involves roasting the squash ahead of adding it to the mix. It saves some time in simmering on the stove, and the squash is SO much easier to peel when it's been roasted to perfection beforehand.
Preheat your oven to 450°. Cut the squash in half and place face down on a cookie sheet - I recommend using a silicone baking liner. Roast in the oven for approximately 30-40 minutes (time varies depending on the oven) or until outside is brown and bubbly and corners are a dark orange/burnt color. Take out and let cool until you can handle it. I usually start the soup part at this point - and by the time the squash is cool, it's time to add it in.
Heat oil and butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onion and sweat them until tender (but not caramelized - remember that they'll be cooking longer).
When ready, add in carrots and sweet potato chunks and cook for about 5 minutes. Add in vegetable stock, salt & pepper, and herbs. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until the sweet potatoes and carrots are nice and tender.
At this point, the squash should be cool enough to peel it. The easiest way is to cut it into large sections and use your fingers to peel away the skin. Some trouble areas can be gently sliced off with a knife. Rough chop the squash into 2 inch cubes and add to the soup on the stove. Continue simmering for another 5-10 minutes until everything becomes very soft.
Get out a food processor (or in my case a blender, as I'm still lusting after a few processors to add to my kitchen), and slowly ladle the soup into the processor bowl. The whole soup probably won't fit in all at once, so puree it in batches. Use another clean bowl to transfer the pureed soup into after each batch. Once pureed, quickly rinse out the soup pot to remove any small non-pureed pieces and transfer the soup back onto the stove. Keep on low heat, and add in the mango juice and heavy cream.
Serve warm with a garnish of rosemary and orange zest. Enjoy!
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