2 Soups: Butternut Squash & Cream of Mushroom

(This article originally appeared in the October 2005 issue of LaBrea Living Magazine.)

by dale reinert, food editor

A Tale of Two Soups

I sat on the couch. I had been sitting on that couch for some ten years now. As it ages, it became a lot more worn and a lot less springy, the couch had been the place where my ideas of soups suitable for autumn sprang forth.

The hunter green couch offered itself every autumn for self-snuggling. In my Wisconsin memories, all autumn days seemed crisp and chilly. This was just the sort of weather that conjured up images of soup.

My best friend in those Wisconsin days was Anne. Her husband Tom was convinced that soup in all its forms was the only food group – remember that was back in the days when schools taught food groups instead of the often maligned food pyramid.

I remembered that Tom had once said that he would walk a hundred miles in a blizzard for a good soup. I wanted two autumns and no winters. I wanted to lay in that crumpled, rumpled couch for months.

So, there I lay sunken deep into the slim cushions and all curled up in the afghan mom had crocheted. With my nose tingling from the crisp autumn air breezing through the window, an idea grew.

Tom was right. Soup was the perfect autumn meal. Here are two of my favorite autumnal soups. Serve with crusty bread and room temperature, unsalted butter.

Butternut Squash Soup
This is a simple recipe that calls for one of each of the ingredients.

Ingredients
1 large, heavy-for-its-size butternut squash, peeled, cored and chunked
1 very large brown or yellow onion, sliced very thinly
1 clove garlic, minced
1 32 oz. container of vegetarian vegetable stock
1 big pinch of cayenne pepper
Olive oil to coat the bottom of a heavy soup pot
Salt and white pepper to taste

Procedure
1. Heat a heavy bottom soup pot on medium. Once hot, coat the bottom with olive oil. Peel and then very thinly slice the largest brown or yellow onion you can find. Slice it paper thin, so as it is sauteed it will melt away. After 10 minutes add the minced garlic clove, salt and white pepper, then saute for an additional 10 minutes. Cooking on medium heat allows the onion to caramelize and, therefore, become sweet.

2. Peel, de-seed and cut in 2-inch chunks a large butternut squash that is heavy for its size. The heaviness is one sign of freshness.

3. Place the squash, stock and a healthy pinch of cayenne pepper in pot. Stir with a wooden spoon, scrapping the bottom of the pot to release the delicious food bits that have become stuck there.

4. Simmer until the squash is tender about 20-30 minutes. Then, using a stick blender, puree the soup into a smooth and thick mixture. Adjust seasoning and serve hot.

5. For a smoother texture and a less intense squash flavor, add heavy cream or a dollop of sour cream spiced with cumin.


Mushroom Barley Soup

Ingredients
1 very large brown or yellow onion, cut into a small dice
36 ounces of fresh mushrooms (crimi, shiitake and\or white buttons in any combination you prefer)
1\2 ounce dried morel mushrooms reconstituted in heated chicken stock
1 cup pearled barley, picked over and rinsed
1 48 oz. can of chicken stock
1 beef bullion cube
1 pint heavy cream
Olive oil
Salt and black pepper

Procedure
1. Heat 2 cups of the chicken stock. When hot, submerge the dried morels for about 20 minutes. Reserve the fortified liquid.

2. Take a very large onion and dice it into small pieces. In a medium hot, heavy bottomed soup pot that has been coated with olive oil, gently saute the onion until browned and caramelized. Place in a bowl.

3. In batches about the size of a handful or two saute the mushrooms. Adding salt at this point will encourage the mushrooms to release their moisture. Saute until most of the moisture has evaporated, then push them to the sides and add another handful or two. Repeat until all the mushrooms have been sauted.

4. Pick over the barley to make sure there are no broken grains or stones. Rinse the barley to wash away the excess starch.

5. Add the onions, barley, reconstituted morels, reserved and remaining stock, the cube of beef bullion and simmer for 30 minutes or until the barley has doubled in size.

6. If the barley has not released enough starch to naturally thicken the soup, then add the heavy cream and continue to simmer until thickened.

7. Before serving, adjust the seasoning. The stock and bullion cube may have added enough salt.