"Orange Soup"

As the Fall weather and a cozy darkness creeps upon my little house I get back into the kitchen in earnest. It's just been plain too hot and muggy to cook and blog during the summer.


Making soups, especially non-fussy ones like this is a favorite of mine. Ever since the boys were little this has been a Fall staple. It's one of those nice recipes that you really can't mess up. There are no picky measurements or ratios. It can can be made  fully vegetarian--or even vegan for that matter--as well as with chicken stock. For real intensity veal, or even beef stock, could be substituted but would yield a darker-colored soup. Anyway, the amounts and kind of veggies can be varied with abandon. It's equally tasty with or without potatoes, or you can use butternut squash, or no squash at all, going sweet potato all the way. Which is why we call it "orange soup" as any combination of golden-hued vegetables  go in the pot. It easily morphs into a carrot-ginger variety should you wish. Or, amp it up with cayenne and red pepper flakes. I like to keep it plain the first day and then add curry to the leftovers for lunch the next day turning it into a completely different flavor experience.

ORANGE SOUP

2-3 large sweet potatoes

2-3 potatoes, any variety

1 medium acorn squash

1-2 large carrots

1 red (or yellow) onion

2-3 sprigs of thyme

2 bay leaves

crushed black pepper

6-8 cups of broth (=2 cubes of broth plus water)

 A handful of toasted sunflower seeds

 

Peel the squash, sweet and regular potatoes as well as carrot(s). Roughly chop all the vegetables. Sweat them in olive oil in a large thick-bottomed pot until they soften and start to turn ever so slightly golden. Add fresh or dried thyme, bay leaves, pepper, broth cubes. Give it all a stir then add enough water to cover well.

Again, it's not an exact science. The amount of water dictates how thick your soup will be, so better to put a little too little than too much. After blending it can always be thinned using either water, broth or cream. Cook the vegetable at a high simmer for about 20 minutes. Poke them with a fork or toothpick, if they are soft then it's time to pull out the blender.

Carefully puree it in a food processor (I use my blender, working in batches). Beware of the hot liquid! Transfer to a large bowl and adjust seasoning.

Heat up a small frying and dry-toast the sunflower seeds.

Ladle the soup into pretty bowls and sprinkle the top with the toasted seeds or croutons and perhaps a little sprig of thyme or fennel to add crunch and to make it pretty. Adding a drizzle of olive oil or creme fraiche is a nice touch too.

This is an extremely low calorie soup, thus it cries out for a fairly substantive companion dish. I chose to make goat cheese, prosciutto, baby spinach and basil panini.

Rub a smashed garlic clove across the bread to add fragrance and flavor. Spread some goat cheese onto the bread then add the greens and prosciutto. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, add a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Grill or fry in butter or oil until crispy golden on the outside and melty-lovely on the inside. Skip the meat and you've got a perfect vegetarian alternative.