Rest Stop

No workout/run today. A rest day...

A couple of weeks ago I came a cross a recipe for soup that intrigued me. It was actually from a segment on the local mid-day newscast. I've never really made a recipe from a tv show or news segment before because most TV recipes usually have some form of cheese or dairy, which I need to be careful with due to allergic reactions. This recipe is for roasted garlic and squash soup. Squash is one of those vegetables that's iffy in my house, it's either hit or miss, but this soup was a definite home run with everyone. They even came back for seconds.


ROASTED GARLIC & SQUASH SOUP
(From KGTV San Diego - Chef Larry)

1 garlic bulb
2 tsp.olive oil
Salt
Fresh ground black pepper

For the soup:
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 cup leeks, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup carrots, diced
2 cups Butternut, Acorn or Kabocha squash, peeled, diced
1 bay leaf
1/3 tsp. thyme leaves
4 cups chicken stock
salt
fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)
Chives, minced


Roast the Garlic:
Method: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare roasted garlic by slicing off tapered end of the garlic bulb. Season open end of garlic bulb with olive oil, salt and pepper. Wrap seasoned garlic bulb in aluminum foil. Roast garlic in oven for one hour. Remove and cool. Remove roasted garlic from skin and reserve.

For the Soup:
Heat olive oil in a large saucepan or pot. Add leeks, celery, carrots, squash and thyme, cook over medium heat.

Allow vegetables to cook until tender and well "caramelized". Add roasted garlic and chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Cook over low heat for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Carefully puree mixture with a hand mixer or blender. Adjust seasoning and finish with cream if desired. Place soup in a tureen for service or portion into individual soup bowls and garnish with minced chives. Makes six to eight servings.


My take on this soup:
The roasted garlic comes out soft and buttery. Be prepared to get a little messy when taking it apart. I personally don't measure on recipes like this, so it's easy to fudge a little on the measurements if you don't have enough of one thing or too much of another. I had more than the recipe indicated and used it, so I basically doubled it. I used butternut squash. When Chef Larry made this on TV, he added about a half cup of pumpkin(pureed/mashed/smooshed/canned - whatever) which is not listed on the recipe. I added the pumpkin since I had it.

There wasn't a listing of the calories, carbs/protein/fat ratios, but it's low in fat and calorie kind if you leave out the cream.

Enjoy your Wednesday.

Peace