Roast Butternut Squash & Shitake Cap Soup

Posted by Amy Baranski

I tried another recipe from Cooking with Mushrooms. It was interesting. I'd change a lot of things if I were to do this again. For one, I thought it would have been sweeter and I'd either amp up the squash factor or drizzle some honey on top right before serving.

Secondly, I'd never make the mistake again of buying cream cheese instead of sour cream. I was overly excited at the co-op when I read goat's milk on the label. Also, I think this recipe could benefit from roasted pine-nuts, though I'm not sure how or when I'd incorporate them into the soup. See recipe below for instructions.

I know this month is Mushroom foraging, but I can't help but explore the culinary side of the mushroom. After all, I do intend on eating the non-toxic mushrooms that I'll forage. This weekend, I didn't find any mushrooms, but I did meet two people who have foraged. Wendy mentioned that Vashon Island has a major cache...and there should be some type of mushroom available now in the Spring, though it sounds like there's more varieties to hunt in the fall.

In the meantime, do you have any mushroom recipes to recommend? I'll test it out and report back. It could be anything from your rendition of stuffed portabellos to wild mushroom ravioli. Just holler it out in the comments!

Roast some squash - cut side down.

Scoop out the seeds.

Set seeds aside.

Compost!

Scrape the squash meat off the skin.

Scrape it good.

Set aside.

Dice a carrot, and onion, assemble nutmeg, pepper, salt (all at 1/4 teaspoon), chicken broth, and white wine. Do not use cream cheese. This was a mistake. The recipe calls for sour cream!

5 1/2 cups chicken broth.

3/4 cup white wine.

Roast cut side down. 

Cut off a little sliver before you roast, slap down some olive oil/salt. 

Things should come to a boil then turn down and simmer 5 minutes.
Use ye ole' immersion blender and puree. 

Add the roasted squash.

It should look like this.