Monday, October 10, 2011

Spinach Butternut Soup

This week, the kids and I accompanied my husband to a retreat in Newport (the kids' first time to see the  ocean!).  On our way there, we got to visit my sister in Corvallis at Gathering Together Farm, where she works.  It's a pretty awesome and inspiring place (especially for this farm-starved Colorado girl), totally organic, offering CSA boxes, a "farm stand" store, and on-site lunches and dinners a few days a week.

Photo credit: www.gatheringtogetherfarm.com

We arrived at the farm just in time for lunch, and we were in for a treat.  Their menu changes every week or two, depending on what produce is in season (and how creative the chef is feeling, I'm told).  My husband and the kids shared a small pizza baked in their outdoor wood oven, and I enjoyed their Spinach-squash Soup.

The soup was fantastic - creamy and squashy, but with a green color and flavor that revealed the presence of spinach.  As I ate it, I wished I had a nice enough blender that could puree spinach that smoothly.  And then I decided, what the heck?!  I'll try it anyway!

Just to make this perfectly clear, this is NOT the Gathering Together Farms recipe for Spinach-squash soup (I don't want to make their chef, JC, look bad with my amateur attempts): It is my own attempt to replicate the original glorious deliciousness.  But it's pretty darn good (even my soup-hating husband liked it!).


Ingredients:
1-2 Tbsp. Butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 c. frozen spinach, defrosted (or 1 1/2 c. fresh spinach)
2 c. butternut squash chunks, cooked
2 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. cream
dash nutmeg

Instructions:
In medium skillet, melt butter and saute onion until softened.  Add garlic and saute additional 1-2 minutes.  Remove from heat.  In blender, combine onions, garlic, spinach, squash chunks, and enough chicken broth to cover solid ingredients.  Blend until smooth.  Return blended mixture to pan.  Add remaining ingredients and heat to serving temperature (if cream is raw, add it separately once soup had cooled somewhat).

What is your favorite recipe for winter squash?  Do you prefer to combine it with savory flavors, or sweet?

Posted at Monday Mania, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Sharing Monday, MaFF, Mangia Monday, Barn Hop 

7 comments:

  1. This sounds delicious!! (Also, yay for Newport! I love that city. :o) My favorite recipe that includes squash is this one for Two Bean Chili.

    http://www.wholeliving.com/recipe/two-bean-vegetarian-chili?backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/action-plan-week-1-recipes#slide_8

    The squash in it is really a nice surprise and is unexpected. When I first made it my boyfriend was giving me the Look and seemed a little hesitant to try it, but after trying it he loves it! The colors in the chili are so pretty, too.

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  2. Hi, Brittany,
    That recipe looks awesome! I know exactly "the Look" you're talking about. :) If you had success with this recipe, I may just have to give it a try!
    We loved Newport too. Especially chowder from The Chowder Bowl!

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  3. Yes, I highly recommend this recipe! Another secret to making it REALLY good is lots and lots of fresh cilantro (I'm kind of a cilantro freak) and fresh-squeezed lime, both when you're serving it up. A glop of Greek yogurt or sour cream is also nice. I'm reeeeally excited to get back to Portland and making this soup!

    Oh, we haven't gone to The Chowder Bowl! I will keep that in mind next time we're in Newport. We go there to go to the beach, the aquarium, Rogue (we collect their 22oz bottles and are always on the lookout for ones we don't have), and the food at the Rogue pub in the historic district is reeeaaallly good. We splurged on the Kobe burgers with fresh Rogue Creamery blue cheese last time we were there and it was absolutely amazing.

    (Sorry this whole post is so long and all about food! I'm feeling hungry just recalling memories of all this yumminess and anticipation of trying your soup recipe!)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Posts all about food are the best kind! Lots of cilantro and lime in your recipe sounds amazing!

    We've heard the aquarium is awesome (didn't have time to visit while we were there), and we just may have to try out the Rogue pub next time we're there! Yum!

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  5. I was just in Newport and Corvallis last month! In Newport we love Gino's and the locality caught and fried calamari! My father-in-law lived the last 20 years of his life in Corvallis and my husband and I lived there briefly when the oldest kids were little. Sometimes I miss the ocean so much it hurts! Sounds like you has fun.

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  6. Hi, Ubermom!
    I haven't been to Gino's, but it is going on the list of places to try next time we're there! We did enjoy lots of fresh fish and delicious clam chowder. Glad you got to visit such a special place.

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  7. This sounds really good - I love creamy soups. I'm going to be hosting a blog carnival specifically for soups, stocks and chowders, starting this Sunday. I would love it if you would come over and post this recipe. Here's a link with more info.

    http://easynaturalfood.com/2011/10/17/introducing-sunday-night-soup-night/

    I hope to see you there!
    Debbie

    ReplyDelete

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