Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

For this soup, I mostly followed a Michael Chiarello recipe from food network and it came out great.  I didn't have some of the ingredients, so I left them out.  We also added an additional can of chicken broth plus some water so that it wouldn't be so thick.  I would definitely make this again, even though it took a while to prepare and messed up the skin on my fingers -- I cut the squash the night before and found out that sometimes underripe squash has a defense mechanism in the skin that causes your skin to dry and peel :(

• About 3 pounds butternut squash (preferably 1 large squash, I used 2 small)

• salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

• 1/4 cup maple syrup

• spice mixture of about 1 tsp each coriander, peppercorns, red pepper flakes, chili powder, salt, cinnamon

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1/2 cup (1/4-inch) diced onion (1 small)

• 1/4 cup (1/4-inch) diced celery (2 pieces)

• 1 cinnamon stick

• salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 1 box vegetable stock, 1 can low-salt chicken broth, plus water

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Peel the squash with a vegetable peeler. Halve lengthwise, discard the seeds, then cut into 1-inch dice. Place in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter ceases to foam and has turned a light brown, pull the pan off the heat and immediately add the sugar, vinegar (stand back so as not to get splattered), syrup and spices. Mix well and let simmer over medium-low heat for 1 to 2 minutes to meld the flavors.

Pour the vinegar mixture over the squash and toss well, then transfer to a heavy rimmed baking sheet or baking dish large enough to hold the squash in a single layer. Place in the oven and roast, tossing at least once, until very tender and caramelized, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Set aside until cool enough to handle but still warm, so the liquids are runny.  (Use immediately in soup, refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.)

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until hot. Add the onion, celery, and cinnamon stick and saute until soft but not brown, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the chicken stock and and bring to a boil. Simmer for several minutes.  Discard the cinnamon stick.  Working in batches, if necessary, transfer the warm squash and all the cooking liquids to the soup mixture. Stir in the squash and puree until smooth, then simmer gently to let the flavors meld, about 10 minutes.

(The soup can be made ahead, cooled, covered, and refrigerated for several days or frozen for about 1 month. It will thicken as it cools and may need thinning with stock or water when reheating.)

Rib Eye Roast

Last week we had Blake's family over for Shabbat.  I made a roast from a recipe I found so long ago I have no idea where.  I made it a couple times when I was first starting to cook, once for my dad's birthday.  They had never had a roast like this, but everyone said they really liked it.  I remembered that the crust was excellent, and it was just as good as I remembered.  

I doubled the amount of garlic, thyme, etc. for the crust so that I could cover the entire thing pretty well.  I used a 3.5 pound roast and it was not to temperature after the first 80 minutes, so I ended up raising the temperature to 375 and cooking it a lot longer.  It took over another hour to get it to the right temperature for medium.  

Ingredients:

1 4 lbs. rib eye roast

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp dried thyme leaves

½ tsp dried tarragon leaves

¼ cup finely chopped shallots

1 cup beef broth

1 tbs tomato paste

½ tsp sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Combine garlic, salt, pepper, thyme and tarragon, stirring until a paste is formed. Spread evenly over surface of beef roast.  Place roast, fat-side up, on rack in shallow roasting pan. Insert meat thermometer so bulb is centered in thickest part, not resting in fat. Do not add water. Do not cover.  Roast to desired doneness: 18 to 20 minutes per pound for rare, 20 to 22 minutes per pound for medium.  Remove roast from oven when meat thermometer registers 135°F for rare or 155°F for medium. Allow roast to stand 15 to 20 minutes before carving.  Meanwhile, remove rack from roasting pan; drain fat. Add shallot to pan; cook and stir over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes. Add broth, tomato paste and sugar; stir until meat juices attached to pan are dissolved. Increase heat to medium-high and continue cooking until liquid is reduced to 3/4 cup.  Carve roast across the grain into 1/4-inch thick slices.

To go with it, Blake made some mashed and baked potatoes, topped with butter and paprika, and I made some green beans with garlic, red pepper, and lemon zest.  We also had a challah and a soup that I will post separately.  

Zucchini stuffed chicken and roasted root veg

Earlier today I was on the pinterest app on my phone looking for dinner recipes.  I saw this chicken recipe on a friend's board.  I've used recipes from the Skinny Taste blog before and since I'm trying to eat healthier before our Hawaii trip next month, it seemed like a good idea for tonight.  This recipe called for shredded zucchini which meant I needed to use my new food processor, so that was a bonus.  I also saw this root vegetable recipe and thought it looked like some healthy comfort food.  

Chicken Ingredients: 

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 zucchini, shredded
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp parmesan
• 3 oz part skim shredded mozzarella
• salt and pepper to taste
• 8 thin chicken cutlets, 3 oz each
• 1/2 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1 lemon, juice of
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt and fresh pepper
• olive oil non-stick spray 

Directions:

Wash and dry cutlets, season with salt and pepper.  Preheat oven to 450°. Lightlyspray a baking dish with non-stick spray.

In a large skillet, heat oil on medium-high heat. Add oil when hot then saute garlic a minute, or until golden. Add zucchini, 1/4 cup Romano cheese, salt and pepper and saute about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool. When cool, addmozzarella cheese and mix to combine.

Lay chicken cutlets down on a working surface and spread 3 tbsp of zucchini-cheese mixture on each cutlet. Loosely roll each one and keep seam side down.

Combine breadcrumbs and grated cheese in one bowl; in a second bowl combine olive oil, lemon juice, and pepper in another bowl.

Dip chicken in lemon-oil mixture, then in breadcrumbs and place seam side down in a baking dish (no toothpicks needed). Repeat with the remaining chicken. When finished, lightly spraywith oil spray. 

Bake 25 - 30 minutes. Serve immediately. Serving size is listed as one, but if you are having this as a low carb meal with a salad, I suggest you have two.

Root Veg Roast

5 carrots
6 parsnips
about tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons sumac
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/2 cup cooked chickpeas
1 tablespoon honey
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (1/2 cup)

Preheat oven to 400°F.

close up

Peel carrots and parsnips, or just scrub well, and halve lengthwise. (If carrots are small and slender, leave them whole. If parsnips are large, quarter them lengthwise, cut out the woody center, and, if necessary, continue to cut into thinner strips to match carrot size.)

Toss carrots and parsnips with 2 tablespoons olive oil, sumac, and salt. Spread in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet and place in oven to roast. 

After 15 minutes, turn carrots and parsnips, and roast for another 10 minutes. Then toss with chickpeas and honey and roast for another 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender and golden.

Remove from oven, toss with feta and parsley or chives, and serve.