BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP WITH CANNELLINI BEANS + GREENS

Is Thanksgiving really next week? No way.


I'm not sharing standard Thanksgiving dinner fare with you today. Instead I wanted to give you a mellow and simple fall soup recipe that could easily serve a crowd of friends and family over the long holiday weekend. You may just want to make a pot of it to have on hand for a soothing non-turkey meal - I love the indulgence of a Thanksgiving spread, but my belly also begs for healthy breaks and this soup does the trick.


We make a pot of beans a week around here and a portion of them always end up in a soup of some sort. P, the kids and I all enjoy the protein kick without the meat. When I found Alice Waters' recipe for White Bean and Butternut Squash Soup the fall flavors appealed to me, but I worried that the soup sounded a bit starchy. Trusting Alice, I went ahead and made the soup and it was delicious and really quite delicate and flavorful. The sweetness of the squash is so nice with the creamy beans and there's plenty of broth to lighten things up. I did add greens to the pot just to give the soup yet another texture and nutritional hit. I used puntarelle because that's what we've got sprouting in our garden. Next time I'll use chard - the tender leaves and mild flavor would be just right here. Keep in mind that you can easily adapt this soup to be completely vegetarian or even vegan by using a good veggie stock instead of the chicken broth.


What are your plans for Thanksgiving? I'd love to hear about your favorite holiday recipes and traditions.

Recipe Note: 

• If you are using dried beans, be sure to soak them the night before. 

Kale and Butternut Squash Minestrone

I am loving my Riverdog Farm box. Their produce is so gorgeous and it has been surprisingly fun to have my vegetable selection predetermined by them (or by nature I guess you could say.) Instead of going to the market in search of specific ingredients to meet the needs of a particular recipe, the vegetables themselves take the upper-hand. Riverdog's kale and butternut squash were the seeds of inspiration for this hearty veggie stew.

If you've got the space and the weather, I highly recommend keeping a few pots of herbs around. The sage and rosemary came from our garden and I always pluck a few bay leaves from Tilden Park to dry at home. With your own herb pots, you can snip just enough for whatever you are cooking. You save so much money not buying packaged herbs and you gain a ton of flavor.



INGREDIENTS 
adapted from Alice Waters' Art of Simple Food

• 1 cup dried Cannellini or Borlotti Beans (or 2 1/2 to 3 cups cooked beans)
• 1/ 4 cup olive oil
• 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf, dried
• 4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3 cups water
• 1 14 ounce can of stewed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes chopped (an unexpected treat from Riverdog)
• 1 large bunch kale, stems removed, and roughly chopped
• 1/2 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch cubes ( about 2 cups)
• fresh ground pepper
• Parmesan, grated

Soak beans overnight in 4 cups water. Drain. Place beans in sauce pan and cover with at least 2 inches of water. Simmer for 2 hours or so. Add more water if the level gets low. Salt and set aside tender beans.

In a dutch oven or stew pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, and celery. Cook until tender, about 15 minutes.

Add bay, sage, rosemary, garlic and salt. Cook for 5 more minutes.

Add chopped kale and tomato (add all the tomato liquid too) and cook another 5 minutes.

Add 3 cups water, simmer 15 minutes.

Add sun dried tomatoes and squash. Cook until tender about 10-15 minutes. When squash is tender, add the cooked beans. Add salt if necessary.

Serve with freshly grated Parmesan and ground pepper.

Butternut Squash roasted with Sage and Coconut

Peering into my Riverdog Farm box, I discovered a butternut squash and some luscious kale. I decided to make a stew featuring these two ingredients. (I will post that recipe soon.) After making my stew, I found myself with half of a butternut squash all prepped with nowhere to go. One could say this improvised recipe was an afterthought or a bi-product of the stew, but I think its delicious simplicity is worth sharing with you.



INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 butternut squash (about 2 cups), cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 1/2 tablespoons raw organic coconut oil
• 1 dozen sage leaves
• sea salt

Preheat oven to 425. Gently melt coconut oil. Spread out squash pieces in a roasting pan. Toss squash with melted coconut oil. Generously salt. (Do not crowd squash pieces - this will insure a good caramelizing.) Place in hot oven. Give the pan a shake every 5 minutes or so. When squash is almost finished cooking and is becoming nicely caramelized, add the sage and toss all ingredients to integrate sage and coat the leaves in coconut oil. Return pan to the oven and roast for a few more minutes until sage leaves are crispy but not burnt. Season with additional salt, if necessary. Serve and enjoy!


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