Fall weather is soup weather!

Fall not only brings relief from the summer's heat, but it also brings us a bounty of beautiful produce.  Root vegetables and squash marry together in one of my favorite soups.  I have been working on this soup for almost a year, and I think I have come up with the perfect recipe.  Not only does it's orange hue welcome the changing of the leaves, but it is quite nice on the palate as well.  This recipe is not a science... you can add whatever sounds good to you.  Add or omit whatever you want, I promise it will still taste wonderful.

Curried Carrot and Squash Bisque with Corn
You will need

3 lbs of carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 large apple, peeled and cut into fourths
32 oz chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup chopped white onion
1.5 cups cooked squash (any variety).  I actually used the 12 oz frozen block, easy and delish!
4-6 ears of sweet corn, or a a bag of frozen corn.
1 can coconut milk (regular or lite variety)
Curry to taste*
1-2 tsp red pepper flakes
EVOO
Salt and pepper to taste

Start by boiling the carrots and apple in a large stock pot.  Cook the corn as you normally would and carve it off the cob (you can do this the day ahead too).  The apple may be a bit raw by the time the carrots are soft, but that is fine.

In a separate pan, heat the onions in the oil until they are translucent.

When the carrots are fork tender, blend them along with the apple and squash (if you cooked the squash yourself) in a blender and add the stock.  You can use and immersion blender too.  You may need to do this in batches, and add the cooked onion and red pepper flakes to the blender mixture as well.  At this stage, you will feel like a mad scientist.  This means you are on the right track.

When everything is emulsified, put back into the stock pot. Add the remaining stock until you get the a smooth, avoiding a "baby food" consistency.  Add squash at this stage if it's the frozen block.  In my personal opinion, go with the frozen squash.  Don't be a hero... cut corners where you can.

When hot, add coconut milk, curry, and corn.  Continue to season with curry, salt, and pepper to taste.  Be judicious with the salt, because the stock and curry can have a lot of sodium.

*I can go on an on about how much I love curry and what I prefer, but it's really about what you like.  I usually use just the McCormick variety plus some blocks I buy from the Asian market.  I usually buy the "Vermont Curry" brand.  They come in these convenient little blocks, and you can crack off one at a time and stir in to get the desired flavor you want.  They have mild, medium, and hot.  I usually use a combination of the blocks and powdered curry to get the flavor I like.  If you go to the curry section of any Asian market, you will find it.  It may have another brand name, but it looks almost identical to this packaging.



I can't wait to hear about your recipes!  I hope you love it as much as my family and I do.