Fennel and butternut squash soup

Fennel and butternut squash soup

From Justine Snacks: 

Everyone and their mother has a butternut squash soup recipe, usually blended and without much variety in flavor or texture. This one adds crunch and tang with a fennel salad added to the top of the soup. If that idea is too strange, you can also enjoy them side by side.

• 
      1 Large fennel bulb, stalks and fronds included
      2 tablespoons plain greek yogurt
      2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 1/2 of a lemon
      5 garlic cloves, divided
      Extra-virgin olive oil
      Diamond Crystal kosher salt
      1 tablespoon salted butter
      1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
      1/4 pound celery stalks 3 stalks, thinly sliced
      1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
      1 heaping teaspoon nutmeg
      2 pounds butternut or other orange winter squash, cubed into 1-inch pieces
      1 bay leaf
      2 cups vegetable broth
      Freshly ground black pepper

Soup:

• Set a large dutch oven over medium heat and add the butter and six tablespoons of olive oil. Allow the butter to fully melt, then add the onion and celery. Cook until softened, 5-6 minutes.

• Add in the garlic, cayenne and nutmeg. Stir to combine. Add in the butternut squash. Stir to combine and season with salt.

• Cook this mixture down for 20 minutes, or until the squash is fully soft. Stir the mixture every five minutes, covering the dutch oven with a cracked lid in between. When the squash is soft, use your spoon to break up most of the pieces, mashing many and leaving some whole.

• Add the bay leaf and broth and let the soup simmer for 20-30 minutes more. The longer it simmers the more flavor will build. Continue to stir occasionally to break up the squash pieces. The soup should be chunky but thick. Taste, season with salt and pepper, and remove from the heat.

Fennel salad:

• Prepare the fennel salad. Remove the fronds and finely chop them. Discard the stalks. Add the fronds to a large bowl. Mandolin the fennel bulb into razor-thin pieces and set aside

• To the bowl with the fronds, add the yogurt, lemon juice, two grated garlic cloves and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Whisk into a thick dressing and season liberally with salt.

• Add in the fennel bulb pieces, toss to coat in the dressing, and place this in the fridge while you prepare the soup.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH PISTACHIO, PESTO, FETA & POMEGRANATE SEEDS

From CSA member Salome Blignaut.

From Persiana - Recipes from the Middle East & beyond by Sabrina Ghayour

Featured CSA veggies: butternut squash, fresh herbs

Notes on the cookbook: Persiana’s strength is bringing out incredible flavor from simple and fast preparations. It’s my go-to cookbook for low-pressure and yet impressive meals to serve at gatherings or holidays. I wanted to share this butternut squash recipe that we’ve paired with more than one lamb recipe from the same book for fantastic Thanksgiving and Christmas meals.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH PISTACHIO, PESTO, FETA & POMEGRANATE SEEDS

“Middle Eastern people often perceive butternut squash as bland. Taking inspiration from an Asian pesto- and-squash dish made by my friend, the chef Tony Singh, I came up with my ownPersian pistachio pesto, adding salty crumbled feta cheese and a handful of vibrant pomegranate seeds for a burst of flavor. The result? It has become one of my most popular supper club dishes of all time and has proven itself to be the dish that converts those who were formerly not the greatest of squash fans.”

SERVES 2 AS A MAIN COURSE OR 4 AS A SIDE DISH

INGREDIENTS
1 large butternut squash, quartered lengthways and deseeded 4 tbsp olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
5 1/4 oz (150g) feta cheese
3 1/2 oz (100g) pomegranate seeds

For the pesto
3 1/2 oz (100g) shelled pistachios
24oz (70g) Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese, chopped into rough chunks olive oil
1 small bunch of cilantro, leaves picked
1 small bunch of parsley, leaves picked
1 sm bunch of dill, leaves picked3 tbsp chili oil
juice of 1 lemon

In a food processor, blitz the pistachios and cheese together, adding a generous amount of olive oil to slacken the mixture. Put all the herbs into the food processor with a little more olive oil, as well as the chili oil and lemon juice, and blitz again, then add some crushed sea salt and give the mixture one last whizz. Taste the pesto, ensuring it has enough salt and acidity, then allow it to rest in the refrigerator until you need it.
Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Once the oven is hot, rub each wedge of butternut squash with the oil, season generously with sea salt and black pepper, and place it.on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast the squash for about 45-50 minutes, or just until the edges have begun to char slightly. You want to blacken the edges a little--this gives them a nice chewy texture. To check the squash to see if it is properly cooked, insert a knife into the flesh-if it slides clean through, the squash is ready. If you feel resistance, return the squash to the oven for a few more minutes.
Serve each wedge of butternut squash on a plate, drizzled generously with the vibrant green pesto. Crumble the feta cheese on top and scatter over the pomegranate seeds to finish.

Leeks and Butternut Squash (Fall Recipe)

From CSA member Bruce Thomson!

Leeks

Chop up the leeks!

Cook ‘em

Put them over some protein, like salmon!

Apple cider syrup drizzled over roasted butternut squash

Recipe for syrup

Recipe Round-Up

Member Juliana Guimarães shared a round-up of her favorite recipes from all of last season’s CSA. As you can tell, she got creative with all those delicious veggies and experimented a lot. We’re so happy to share some of the recipes she recommends. If you make them, let us know and send photos!

Breaded Eggplant Cutlets - So delicious and easy to do it!

Butternut-Sausage Lasagna - As a granddaughter of Italians, lasagna is one of my favorite dishes of all time! When I came across this recipe was pure delight.

Brazilian Carrot Cake - As a Brazilian I was so surprised when I tried the carrot cake here in the USA, it’s completely different from the cake I grew up eating. So when I saw all the amazing carrots I got from the share, my first thought was: Carrot Cake!


Cabbage Rolls - For a period last season we got cabbages every week, and I need to be creative to make sure we are eating all before the next week come. So it pops on my mind the dish my grandmother used to do and I never cooked. My husband loved so much that he keeps asking me “When will you do Cabbage Rolls?”

Tabbouleh - I can eat an entire bowl of Tabbouleh on my own. I love it so much!

Pasta with Kale Pesto and Roasted Butternut Squash

A great, easy recipe from the Times that’s nice enough to serve for company.  If you can figure out a way to peel them, I don’t see why you couldn’t make this with the acorn squash we’ve been getting the last couple of weeks.

Pasta with Kale Pesto and Roasted Butternut Squash
by Melissa Clark for the New York Times

1 1/2 lbs butternut squash
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling over squash
3/4 t. kosher salt for pesto, plus more for squash
Freshly ground black pepper
1 small bunch lacinato kale, stems removed
8 oz. pasta (penne rigate works well) (note: I made twice this much and the pesto was still plenty strong)
1/3 c. toasted pine nuts
2 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
Finely grated zest of one lemon
Freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste
Grated Parmesan, for serving

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Use a vegetable peeler to peel squash, then halve it lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Dice squash flesh into 1-inch pieces, place on a baking sheet, and toss with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Spread pieces into an even layer, making sure there is space between them. Roast, stirring squash pieces once or twice, until golden brown and tender, about 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; have ready a bowl of ice water. Drop kale into boiling water and cook for 45 seconds. Use tongs or slotted spoon to transfer kale to ice water. Bring water in pot back to a boil, adding more if necessary so there is enough to cook pasta.

3. Drain kale well, then wrap tightly in a dry kitchen towel and squeeze thoroughly to remove any excess moisture. Roughly chop leaves. When water in pot comes back to a boil, cook pasta according to package directions.

4. In a food processor, pulse together kale, nuts, garlic, salt and lemon zest until mixture is smooth and salt has dissolved. With motor running, slowly drizzle in the oil until fully incorporated. Taste and add more salt dissolved in a little lemon juice, if necessary.

5. Drain pasta, reserving a little cooking water. Toss pasta with kale pesto and some pasta cooking water if necessary to help it coat pasta. Add cheese, lemon juice and salt to taste. Serve topped with squash and more cheese.