winter squash soup

Spring forward. Except, as usual, it looks nowhere near spring outside. It's cloudy and rainy and dreary... and the perfect weather for soup.

I received this recipe from my friend Sara after many food discussions during our recent vacation. She and her husband, John, highly recommended it so I thought I would give it a shot. I love squash soup, but it's sometimes difficult to find a recipe without copious amounts of heavy cream. I was happy to see this healthier version - and just as happy with the taste! Freddy and I both give it a thumbs-up and we will be making this again.

I didn't have everything on hand: I used acorn squash, omitted the tomato (but added a bit of tomato paste), used great northern beans in place of the black beans, and a lemon wedge instead of lime. I also went a bit blender happy and blended the whole batch - which I think lent itself to a nice consistency.

Source: Eating Well

Winter Squash Soup
Serves eight

Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
3 pounds buttercup squash, peeled and diced (about 6 cups)
1 plum tomato, chopped
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 15-ounce cans pinto or other brown beans, rinsed
10 ounces spinach, stemmed and coarsely chopped
1 lime, cut into wedges

Instructions
Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add garlic, carrots and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Add broth and scrape up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Add squash, tomato, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the squash is very soft and almost breaking apart, about 20 minutes.

Transfer 3 cups of the soup to a blender and puree until smooth. (Use caution when pureeing hot liquids.) Return the pureed soup to the pot. Stir in beans and spinach and cook over medium heat until the beans are heated through and the spinach is wilted, about 5 minutes. Serve with lime wedges.

To make squash bowls:
Preheat oven to 425°F. Slice about an inch off the top of each buttercup squash. Scoop out seeds and loose flesh. Pour 1/2 inch water into a glass baking dish (or two) large enough to hold the squash. Place squash cut-side down in the water. Bake until the flesh is tender when gently poked with a knife and the squash still holds its shape, about 30 minutes.