Thanksgiving!

[mamadeb]

I offered to do Thanksgiving this year, expecting a fight from my mother-in-law, who likes hosting these family things - but this year, after her accident, I didn't want her doing that.

She's happy with this. NO fight. Yay! So.

Anyone have a good, pareve recipe for butternut squash soup? Must be pareve - brother-in-law doesn't eat meat. Does eat fish, though, so I'll just bake a tilapia fillet in salsa for his main course.

Comments

[tpau]

Squash Soup (15 servings)

Squash. For squash, peel them and cut them into slices. Remove the seeds if there are any and cook them in water in a pan, then drain them and rinse in cold water. Squeeze them and chop them finely; mix with some beef and other meat broth and add cow's milk, and mix half a dozen egg yolks, put through a sieve, into the broth and milk; on fast days (use) the cooking water from (dried) peas, or almond milk, and butter.

We based our recipe on the lenten version found in The Medieval Kitchen, Recipes from France and Italy by Odile Redon, Francoise Sabban, and Silvano Serventi2.

For 150 (x10)
55 lbs. Squash
6.75 lbs. Slivered almonds
1.5 lbs. Butter or margarine
40 cups water

so um, divide back by 10 to get the 15 person recipe (this is from an SCA feast)

[geekosaur]

Unfortunately, the first (a) contains meat (yes, broth counts) (b) also contains milk (whoops, treif!) — and the second contains butter, meaning the other folks at the table can't eat it. (Yeh, kosher cooking can be "fun".)

[tpau]

no no, the first is a medieval recipe and the second is it's modern redaction. if the butter is replaced with parve margarine then it is perfectly parve (this is the lenten version, no meat)

i am perfectly familiar with the basics of kosher cooking...

[geekosaur]

Sorry, I admit to beling not entirely awake (actually, "not entirely asleep" might be more accurate :/ )

and it took me three tries to type "accurate" there...

[tpau]

'sok. i am not all there either this morning...

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Wait.

Butternut squash is a New World vegetable. How does it be a part of a medieval feast? Or was it set post-Columbus?

Otherwise...doable. If I use soy milk, I think, and maybe veggie broth. I need that anyway for the stuffing.

[tpau]

if it is a very very late period feast (1500s) then some new world food is cool, such as squash. but not say tomatoes. evil evil nightshades...

you can get away with not having broth at all, but yes veggie broth would work. i'd jsut use non-dairy butter/margarine though instead of soy milk. i think it woudl taste better :)

[leela-cat.livejournal.com]

I've got a great squash soup. It's a Roasted Squash, Pear, and Ginger Soup that I usually use butternut squash in.

The only possible non-parve ingredient is optional and I've never added it. The soup is totally amazing without it. See my LJ entry for the recipe:

http://leela-cat.livejournal.com/124750.html#cutid1

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

That is *precisely* what I'm looking for. Sounds like it could be easily made ahead, too.

[leela-cat.livejournal.com]

Yes. If anything else, the soup's actually better when eaten the day after making it.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

How many does it serve? I'm feeding - um. Us. My in-laws. My brother-in-law and his family. My brother. Possibly my mom and her husband.

10 people - I'll count the five year old because I think she'll eat orange colored soup.

[leela-cat.livejournal.com]

The cookbook says that it makes about 4-1/2 cups of soup. I served six with it and had enough for people to have seconds before the pot ran out.

[ellen-fremedon.livejournal.com]

That sounds fantastic!

I've only made this with acorn squash, but I think it would work just as well with butternut: Curried Squash and Apple Soup (http://ellen-fremedon.livejournal.com/550290.html). It has no animal ingredients except for a little butter, which could be replaced with margarine or simply omitted.

[leela-cat.livejournal.com]

That soup sounds yummy as well, except for the coconut milk. C is allergic. I wonder what I could use to substitute...

[mrn613.livejournal.com]

lol I love the stuff in the readi-pack boxes! I would just season it with fresh herbs or ginger/cinnamon/clove powder. then heat the corn flavor in a separate pot, and season differently -- maybe toasted chili and cumin. then take two ladles, and ladle each soup simultaneously into the bowls. swirl with a toothpick, sprinkle on chopped herbs (or not), and serve.

Better than a restaurant.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

I find that a bit too salty. My father-in-law is not allowed to have salt at present.

[mrn613.livejournal.com]

commerical soups do have alot of salt, alas.

[kightp.livejournal.com]

Safeway's "O" organics brand makes a wondeful vegetarian vegetable broth that can be used in any recipe that calls for chicken broth; I often use it for vegetable soups because it's so flavorful and good.

My favorite method for any winter squash:

* Cut the squash in half, remove the fibrous seedy innards and oil the cut edge. Place face-down and a baking sheet and roast in a 350 degree oven until you can easily pierce it with a fork.
* Roast a head (or more) of garlic alongside the squash.
* In a large stockpot, soften some chopped onion in a little olive oil. Add the roasted squash, scooped from the rind, and the roasted garlic, squeezed out of it paper husks. Add stock to cover.
* Simmer for half an hour or so, until the squash and garlic begin to disintegrate. Add a tablespoon or so of chopped fresh sage (or a teaspoon of dried sage. Taste and add salt, if necessary; use a wand blender to puree to a creamy-smooth consistency. If you want a richer soup (and you're not serving it to vegans), stir in a quarter-cup of heavy cream just before serving.

Serve with a swirl of sour cream or full-fat yogurt and a little more chopped sage on top.

Roasting the squash and garlic brings out its natural sweetness, and even squash-haters devour this stuff.

[cyprinella]

My bisque recipe is somewhat lacking on measurements but:

Chop one onion, saute in fat of choice with some chopped garlic.
Peel and chop one butternut squash and about four potatoes. Add to cooked onions. Cover with liquid of choice (I usually do water with a bouillion cube) and shake on ground paprika on until surface is mostly covered. Cover and boil until veggies are soft. Once soft, puree in blender in batches and then reheat. Garnish with fresh chives. I usually add goat cheese or sour cream to give it a little extra tang but it's really not neccessary and soy yogurt or sour cream would work just as well.

Butternut-Coconut soup!

[torahumaddachic.livejournal.com]

This is so easy and also unusual and delicious. I got the recipe from a south african friend.

Place 2 bricks frozen butternut squash and 1 can of coconut milk plus 1 can water (or a bit more) in a soup pot (scaling up is easy, too). Simmer untill defrosted, then bring to a boil, and add salt, Ground black pepper and whole peppercorns (both are important, and obviously to taste) a bit of nutmeg, and a bit of cayenne if u are not afraid of spicy. Let simmer for a while longer and if it needs something, add about a spoonful of pareve broth powder. Its superb and involes almost NO effort.

Re: Butternut-Coconut soup!

[cyprinella]

ooooh, I have a can of coconut milk sitting around that I need to do somethign with and that sounds good.

[jacquez.livejournal.com]

this would be pareve, i think, if you swapped out the chicken broth & didn't mix in the cream:

http://www.premodern.org/upsidedownpear/archives/2007/10/23/i-are-smart/