roasted butternut squash soup with coriander and cumin

i've remarked before that i really like squash. this recipe was lifted and slightly modified from a newspaper food section last year. i tried it out on a couple of unsuspecting friends whom we had invited over for dinner. the he half of the couple was very leery of it, since he hates squash. final judgement: he ate it all, and asked if there was more. this is where i got the idea for my roasted pumpkin soup.

this soup has a definite southwestern taste. it's damn good

Prep time: 30 minutes, cook time 2.5 hour, serves 4 to 6

ingredients:

• 2 pound butternut squash ed note:that's not all that big of a squash. if it's really important to you, weigh it before buying


• olive oil


• ground pepper


• 1 tbs unsalted butter


• 1 med onion, diced


• ½ tsp kosher salt


• ¾ tsp ground cumin


• ½ tsp ground coriander


• 14 ½ oz can diced tomatoes with juice


• black pepper


• 3 cups low salt chicken broth ed note: i like the swanson's brand of low salt broth. i think it tastes the best, and give the most consistant flavor of any of the many many brands i've tried over the years. or else, this would be a good time to take that broth out of the freezer that you made from the turkey carcass after thanksgiving. what? you didn't make broth and save it? shame shame.


• 1 tbs plain yoghurt per serving

Instructions:

Heat the oven to 400 deg. Cut squash in half, roast on foil/parchment paper lined cookie sheet for 80-90 minutes, cut side up, until darkly roasted. Let cool until you can handle it to peel. Can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.
Makes 1 ¾ cups chunks, 1 ½ cups mashed

editor's note: here's how i've found it easiest to cut these damned hard as rocks squash. with a sharp, heavy bladed knife, cut the top and bottom off of the squash. then stand it up on the now flat bottom, and using two hands, push the knife down the middle. keep everything above the blade, or else we'll start calling you stubs. once you've cut all the way down through the squash, scoop out the membrane (guts) and seeds. i like to put a little bit of olive oil on the cut surface before roasting, but that's my thing.

Heat oil and butter in heavy soup pot over med heat. Sauté onion and salt for about 2 minutes, cover, sweat for about 3 minutes, until translucent. Uncover, and brown onions..about 5 minutes. Add cumin and coriander, stir about ½ minute. Add tomatoes and juices, cook for 2 minutes, lower heat and simmer for 10.

Add peeled roasted squash and broth. Bring to simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes covered.

Blend and return to pot, bring back to temp. ED NOTE: or you can use an immersion blender. that way the soup never has to cool before blending in a food processor or blender. if you do use a blender, let it cool so the soup doesn't flash to steam when you hit the power. nasty burns from that if you aren't careful

Plate, and garnish with yoghurt or heavy cream

for a complete list of my online recipes, follow the link here

here's a link to the flickr set for pictures of this recipe.