Рецепт A Soup That Squashes The Rest.
It's no secret, I am not a big squash fan. In fact it's one of my least favorite vegetables. My CSA (local farm fresh veggies delivered weekly to your door) sent me yet another trillion apples and a giant butternut squash. Instead of crying about it I decided to make it a challenge. Make squash that I like. You can trick yourself into anything I thought to myself. Remember when I tricked myself into thinking those crunchy Japanese Squid Snacks were in fact pork rinds. Yup, it worked for a minute until the oily over fishy taste came through. I suppose a lot of people would be just as disgusted by pork rinds. To them I say this "you are joyless and have no class". Anyways, I was determined to make a squash dish that didn't make me cringe.
The end result was Curried Butternut Squash and Jonagold Apple Soup with Bacon, Fresh Thyme, and Peppered Rye Croutons. I roasted the squash and a couple of jonagold apples with butter, salt, and pepper until nice and caramelized and soft. I removed the skins and seeds and threw the flesh into a blender. In the meantime I rendered the fat out of a couple slices of bacon and cut some dark rye bread into cubes. I set aside the bacon on a paper towel lined plate and then I seasoned the croutons with salt and fresh ground pepper and tossed them in the bacon fat until crispy. I heated up 4 cups of homemade veggie stock (so easy and way better than the canned stuff) and added a few ladles full into the blender with the squash and apple flesh. Season with salt, pepper, 1 Tbsp curry powder, and a 1/2 Tbsp of fresh thyme. Blend until smooth, strain and add the liquid gold to the rest of the veg stock. Simmer until it thickens. Garnish with the rye croutons, bacon, and fresh thyme.
I was surprised how delicious this soup was. It's a serious stick to your ribs, make you feel all cozy kind of soup. I could see eating eating a small bowl of this with a grilled apple and brie grilled cheese. While I don't see myself eating roasted squash anytime soon, I do see myself making this soup again. And again, and again. Yum yum.