Winter Squash Soup with Kale and Sausage

14 October, 2014 0 comments Leave a comment

This is a very vegan-friendly soup, so if you want to omit the dairy and sausage, go for it, the soup won't suffer. I used squash from the very delightful Whistling Train Farm and sausage from the wonderful Skagit River Ranch. The amounts below are loose. This is not a precise exercise in baking, where amounts must be just so or the whole thing is ruined. This soup is easy and gorgeous; the orange is bright, the bright green, olive oil slicked kale contrasts sharply, and the crumbled browned sausage brings it all together.  I'd love to post a higher resolution, larger shot of this soup, but Shopify doesn't allow that. 

This serves 4-6 people as a main course.

Soup

2-2.5 pounds of winter squash (the lovely one I used was, I think, a Gold Nugget)
2 tablespoons garlic
1 medium onion
1 fat carrot, chopped finely
2 ribs celery, chopped finely
1 quart of stock + at least 1 cup of water
1 teaspoon of Tuscan Seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper 

 Garnishes

  • a small bunch of kale, center ribs removed, and sliced thinly. Drizzle a teaspoon of white wine or champagne vinegar and one tablespoon of olive or avocado oil over the kale. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Rub the dressing into the leaves with your hands.
  • 1/2-1 pound of sausage (I used Skagit River Ranch's Smoked Polish), browned and drained.

  • Sour Cream

Cut the squash into quarters and place in a brownie or lasagna pan filled with an inch of water in a 350 degree oven. Or steam it. After 30 minutes or so, remove the squash, secure with tongs or a fork, seed and peel. Cut into rough chunks.

In a heavy-bottomed soup pot, saute the onion in oil for 3-5 minutes on medium, until it's soft. Add the garlic and continue to stir. Cook 1-2 more minutes. Add carrot and celery, cook 4 more minutes, until, the celery and carrot both fade in color and soften. Sprinkle with the Tuscan Seasoning, salt, and pepper. Stir and cook for a minute. Add the squash and cover with stock and water. Cover and cook until the squash is soft.  Puree with a stick blender or in a blender. If you want to add sour cream, add a half cup at this point and stir in. Add more salt or pepper, if you like.

Ladle into bowls and top each bowl with a handful (~ 1/3 cup) of kale and a quarter cup, or so, of sausage.

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