Soup season.

Mmm. I love good creamy thick soups and I love autumn. I’m not sure exactly if the two are related – I also love apple pie, which is also associated with autumn for me, so there could be something about the foods of the season that influences my love for the weather, or vice versa. In any case, when the students selected “vegetarian” as the theme for our office potluck, I decided it was time to try a recipe I had for butternut squash soup.

Butternut Squash Soup (from a recipe in the Cooking Club of America magazine)

1. Split and remove the seeds from 3 medium squash.
2. Brush with olive oil and fill the centers with honey or maple syrup (I used honey as I’m not a huge fan of maple).
3. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg.
4. Roast at 350 for about an hour (I went an hour and fifteen minutes because they were still a little firmer than I wanted after an hour).
5. Let cool and scoop out all the flesh.
6. Blend (I used a hand blender) with 4 cups veggie broth and a can of coconut milk.
7. Throw in some salt and simmer it for 20 minutes to blend the flavors.

It turned out really tasty. I love coconut milk and it adds a perfect note of creaminess and sweetness to the squash without being overwhelming.

I’m thinking that this weekend I will make one of my other favorite creamy soups, Chicken Veloute.

Chicken Veloute (from Soup: A Way of Life)

1. Make a roux with 4 tablespoons of butter and 7 tablespoons of flour. Cook it for 8 or 9 minutes until it starts to thin and get shiny.
2. Slowly pour in 5 cups chicken stock or broth, whisking constantly to avoid lumps.
3. Slowly bring to a boil; stir frequently to keep the flour from sticking to the sides of the pan.
4. Cook just below a boil for 30 minutes (again, keep stirring).
5. Sprinkle in some salt (to taste – if you used salted stock or broth, you may not need to add more) and nutmeg. Don’t skip the nutmeg; it really accents the soup extraordinarily!
6. In a separate bowl, whisk 3 egg yolks and 1/4 cup of heavy cream. Ladle in some of the hot soup to temper the egg & cream mixture; when the mixture is warm, stir into the soup.
7. Heat another minute or so until it coats the back of a spoon.

This is very thick and extraordinarily tasty for such a simple soup. Use good stock or broth because almost all the flavor from the soup comes from the stock or broth. If you let it sit too long, it will skin over, so keep it covered and serve it while still warm. It reheats okay, but I’ve never tried freezing it.

And since I have heavy cream, I think I’ll make up some single-malt scotch truffles (recipe from a comment at Making Light), but using Chambord instead of scotch since I picked up the Chambord a few weeks ago to use in a berry sauce for cheesecake.