A great veggie soup for the season!

  

              I love this time of year, when winter weather makes us sort of cocoon in our houses and long for warming soups and stews.  Well, usually, although this year we've had precious little real winter weather!

 I’d picked up a butternut squash and was browsing online for some sort of soup that wasn’t just a squash purée.  I didn’t find a soup recipe I liked, but I did find several complimentary references to a private label canned soup from a market chain: “Butternut Squash Possole (sic) with Collard Greens.”  But  I have a friend from the southwest who had served posole once a while back.  I remembered liking it…so why not give it a try?

                The collard greens part wasn’t to my taste so I just left it out.  My very first attempt was, untypically, the version I’m giving you here.  Usually I have to work through a couple of tries in a recipe to make it to my liking. 

                You’ll only use half of a smallish (3-4 pound) squash but the other half can be diced, tossed with a bit of olive oil and an Italian herb blend and roasted in a hot oven until just starting to brown around the edges. That will make a good side dish for a chicken or pork main dish later in the week. 

                The posole I’d been served was very thick, like a stew, but if you’d like a “soupier” dish, just add the larger amount of stock.

                I served this with a wedge of lime and a sprinkling of cilantro.  I know there are those who hate cilantro (my husband, for instance), so just leave it off for them. 

However you tweak it to suit your tastes, I think this recipe will be a keeper for you, as it is for me.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH POSOLE

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

5 cloves garlic, peeled and very thinly sliced

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tbsp. chili powder blend (see note)

2 cans diced tomato, with juices

1 tbsp. tomato paste

1 to 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 tsp salt

3 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into ½” dice

1 15-oz can white hominy, rinsed and drained

1 15-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

Lime wedges and chopped cilantro, for garnish

                In a heavy pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and stir a few times, then add the onion.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until very soft but not browned.  Add the oregano, cumin and chili powder, stir well and let simmer a couple of minutes.  Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, stock and salt.  Raise heat, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and let simmer gently for about ten minutes.

                Stir in the squash, return to a simmer, cover and cook until the squash is almost tender, about 15 minutes.  Add the hominy and black beans and continue to simmer until the squash is tender, about  another 10 minutes. 

                Taste and add salt if needed.  Ladle into bowls and garnish with lime wedges and chopped cilantro.  Serves 6 to 8.

NOTE:  Mexene is quite an acceptable supermarket shelf chili powder blend, but I am particularly fond of Penzey’s Chili 9000 blend.  It’s a bit spicier than Mexene, but if you like a milder blend, Penzey’s Chili 3000 is also quite tasty.

Amusing Lasagne

We were having a few friends in last week for a very casual get-together. My husband Tom asked what I was thinking of making and I said "oh, I don’t know. Some sort of amusing lasagne." And he put that in the email invitation he sent out. Well, there I was, stuck with coming up with amusing lasagne. I quite like butternut squash anytime but this time of year it just seems right.

This looks like a lot of work but it goes quickly. And better, there’s no reason you can’t have it completely done a day ahead. Refrigerate covered, but be sure to let it sit out at room temperature for an hour or so before baking.

In Italy, I’ve never had lasagne using the wavy noodles so common here; it’s always with flat noodles. So I’ve often made my own pasta sheets. What a treat, then, to find Barilla makes a noodle that is not only flat but doesn’t have to be boiled before using. If you have them, or prefer them, there’s no reason you can’t make this with the wavy noodles, boiled according to package instructions.

One note: each noodle in the assembly is a "lasagna." All of them together comprise "lasagne." That's the way I spell it, and so does the English version of "The Silver Spoon" cookbook, the Italian equivalent of the French "Larousse Gastronomique."

BUTTERNUT SQUASH-GOAT CHEESE LASAGNE

2 medium butternut squash
2 tbsp. good olive oil
Salt and pepper
3 leeks
½ cup butter, divided
¼ cup fresh sage leaves, minced
6 tbsp. flour
6 cups milk
8 oz. goat cheese, divided
1 large pinch nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
2 cups ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1 box Barilla no-cook lasagne sheets
1 cup Italian cheese mix, divided

Preheat oven to 400. With a vegetable peeler, strip both the hard outside and the lighter flesh just under it from the squash. Cut in half lengthwise and with a spoon scoop out the seeds and fiber from the center. Cut into ½" cubes. Spread on a baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil. Toss to cover. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Roast until tender and just starting to brown around the edges, 15-20 minutes.

Reduce the oven heat to 350
.
Cut a slice off the root end of the leeks. Cut off the dark green tops and discard. Cut the white and light green part in half lengthwise, rinse well, drain, then slice ¼" thick. In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp. butter over medium-low heat. Add the sliced leek and cook until just tender. Add the roasted squash cubes and the sage, toss to combine and remove from the heat.

Meanwhile in a saucepan, heat the remaining butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring, a couple of minutes. Whisk in the milk and simmer until thickened. Add half the goat cheese and whisk until melted into the sauce. Remove from the heat.

In a small bowl, mix the ricotta and eggs.

Assemble the lasagne: Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish (or use cooking spray). Spread 2 cups of the sauce evenly on the bottom. Arrange four pasta sheets on top, overlapping slightly. Spread half the ricotta on top, then half the squash-leek mixture, then one cup of sauce. Sprinkle with one-third of the Italian cheese mixture. Repeat the layers. Finish with a layer of pasta sheets and the remaining sauce. Be sure the sauce/fillings are spread all the way to the edge of the pan. Crumble the remaining goat cheese over the top and sprinkle with the remaining Italian cheese mixture.

Cover the pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until top is nicely browned, another 20-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let set for 15-20 minutes before cutting into squares to serve. Serves 8 to 12.