Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Exchanging recipes

Wednesday, 26 September

OK, Allison started things off with her recipe for raw ravioli. It must be warmer in Pullman than it is in Seattle, because I really needed soup tonight. Here's my homemade recipe du jour, which is not raw but features no added fat:

Split a delicata squash in half the long way, scoop out the seeds, and place the two halves face down on a baking sheet. Bake for about an hour at about 375. Let cool.

Scoop the squash out of the rind/peel and place in a blender or food processor. Add vegetable stock, chicken stock, water, or any combination of these and process until it's a soup-like consistency. (If you want a zing to your soup, add a couple of minced garlic cloves at this stage.)

Transfer this concoction to a big saucepan. Peel and grate a parsnip (you know, one of those things that looks like a beige carrot on steroids) and a carrot, and add those to the soup. Let simmer for about 15 minutes. Add 4-5 chopped green onions and whatever fresh herbs you have in the garden, along with enough ground pepper to give it more zing and a little bit of salt. Continue simmering for another 15 minutes. You may have to add more water/stock or milk to keep it from getting too thick.

The squash and the parsnip are sweet, and the pepper and garlic make a nice warm contrast. One big delicata squash made enough for two big bowls of soup. With a green salad and a little raw gouda from Ferndale, this made a nice autumn dinner.

5 comments:

Argentius said...

"A beige carrot on steroids." Hah!

Minimal processing is a good thing! I say that, of course, as I am eating some very nice butter cookies... those are pretty processed, I bought 'em at Top foods, but, who can resist?

UltraMick said...

90% of the time when I buy parsnips, the clerk doesn't know what they are. Somehow, they seem to escape the produce department's urge to put a sticker on everything--every pear, but not every parsnip. The last fennel I got had a plastic stake with barcode skewered into it. Like the chip in my passport, I guess....

Andrew F Martin said...

I watched Ski-to-Sea last night on Comcast - nice interview, and Mick played the silent type quite well in the background.

UltraMick said...

Yikes. These things I never see! Do you know how hard it is to be even marginally coherent after a 90-minute TT??

Andrew F Martin said...

Ask Jamie about my state of mind after the TTT this year. I'd say you did REAL well.