Multi Squash Soup

Team Givan (Liberal Division) is here, and we don't have a lot of happy news to share. Our director is still a child who runs away from me after a heated confrontation we had over some policy and morale issues, who has managed to co-opt one of my own projects. The job hunt proceeds, but slowly.

Theresa works alongside me, full time, albeit with very little to do either. She's officially the collections manager, but the curator has felt threatened by us both since day 1 and very possessive of what she has traditionally done. We make our own projects, and can get away with it because the director sits in his office all day, doing unknown work.

She still cooks, of course, and I gave her a lightbox as an early Christmas present so she can share some of her art with everyone else! And, speaking of, here's our very belated recipe:


Multi-Squash Soup Topped with Puffed Pastry
For Soup:

1 Butternut Squash
1 Acorn Squash
1 Japanese Squash
1 Yellow Onion
2 Cloves of Garlic
2 Apples (apple of your choice)
3-5 Cups Vegetable Broth
Salt
½ Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
½ Teaspoon Ground Ginger
¼ Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
⅛ Teaspoon Ground Cloves
⅛ Teaspoon Red Pepper
½-1 Cup Heavy Cream

For Puff-Pastry:
1 Sheet of Frozen Puff Pastry
1 Egg
¼ Cup of Milk
To Make Soup:

1. Start by peeling and cubing all of the squash, dice the onion, peel and cube the apples. (Nothing has to be too finely done because it will all be pureed by the end.)
2. Place the squash, onions, apples, and garlic into a large pot. 
3. Cover all of the ingredients in pot with vegetable broth. 
4. Be sure not to add too much broth as this is supposed to be a thick soup. 
5. Add just enough that everything will be able to soften up in the broth as it simmers. 
6. Add seasoning. If you don’t want it to be spicy don’t add the red pepper. If using just the salt in this dish it will end up being a nice sweet dish. Still very delicious!
7. Bring mixture to a boil. 
8. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally. 
9. After it’s simmered test the squash to make sure that it has softened up and cuts easily. 
10. There are several ways to do the next step:
11. To puree the soup, remove from heat and use a submersible blender (aka boat motor) to puree until smooth. OR place in a blender in batches to puree. OR leave everything whole if that’s how you prefer it!
12. Place the soup back into the pot and add your heavy cream. 
13. Depending on how creamy you want the soup add the whole cup of cream. 
14. Serve with puff pastry!*

To Make Puff Pastry Top:

1. Set the oven to 400 degrees (or as instructed on the back of the box). 
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
3. Allow the pastry to thaw. 
4. Cut the pastry into squares, or triangles (as small or big as you please, I make mine small enough to fit into a soup bowl).
5. Mix the milk and egg together. 
6. Brush the egg wash mixture on top of the puff pastry. 
7. Bake for 15-18 minutes until golden brown.

* You can either put the puff pastry on top of the soup or you can dip it into the soup.

The Japanese squash is a really nice addition to this dish as the end result is a very smooth and rather buttery flavored soup, without there being a drop of butter in it. Enjoy! This recipe does make a LOT of soup. So store in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.