A cooking and baking journal

Falling for the Fall Harvest

10/11/09: Butternut Squash Soup with Herb Roasted Potatoes

Meal Details: The main course consisted of soup made with butternut squash and as a side, I roasted red potatoes and Kennebec potatoes with sage and other flavorings.

Defining moments: This is the first time that a squash soup entered my family's meal lineup and it is the first ever Martha Stewart recipe I did. I never thought in a million years that I would be doing something from Martha!
This is also the first time that we have used Kennebec potatoes and first time to cook with fresh sage.

Recipe sources: The butternut squash soup came from the October 2009 issue of Martha Stewart Living. (The original recipe was titled "Roasted Pumpkin Soup" but I substituted the pumpkin with butternut squash.) The Herb Roasted Potatoes came from the Food Network website and was thus chosen for this week because Anne Burrell is the recipe creator. I am part of the Food Network Challenge that is being hosted by the writer of the I Blame My Mother blog. Learn more about this fun challenge by visiting this page.

What I learned: First and foremost I learned that this soup is probably the least expensive soup you can ever make. With only four medium sized butternut squash you can make FIVE whole quarts of soup. And if you take a look at the recipe ingredient list you can see you don't have to load the shopping cart with many items!
I also learned that there is no need to use an immersion blender to blend the soup, just take out your electric beater and whisk away!
And instead of roasting the squash on a cookie sheet like we usually do I think it is better to use the large roasting tray that is meant for the turkey. It allows for me to quickly toss them so they can bake evenly.
And the potato recipe? I learned that the Kennebec potatoes have a very thin skin and can be easily washed.

Any modifications? Yes, only to the soup recipe. I took out the shiitake mushrooms that were called for and I peeled the squash with a potato peeler before I cubed them. I thought peeling them prior to baking would be a whole lot easier.

How it tasted? Both dishes were warm, rich, and full of flavor. They went exceptionally well together! The squash soup was smooth (it did have an occasional lump here and there but I didn't mind) and bright as a sunset. The potatoes, especially the Kennebec, had wonderful garlic flavor and those that had the sage (I only did half a tray with sage, as a test), were really good, too. The Kennebec are longish in shape so they are perfect for oven fries.

How about a 2nd time? Yes, absolutely. And I would like to pair these two recipes again, since they worked so well together.





Thank you, Anne with an "E", for the great potato recipe!




1 comment:

  1. Very nice looking. I wouldn't think to pair them together but they certainly work. Love the color of the soup. Makes me want to try it right now! I love roasted potatoes and someone else said they liked these as well. They are on my must-try list ;) Thanks for participating in FNCCC!

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