Long ago, in the kitchen of one of Montreal’s finest restaurants, I was taught that a truly fantastic soup can be made from a mere handful of humble ingredients.
What made the soup exceedingly good was the quality and freshness of the ingredients, and the method used for cooking. Over the long, frigid Montreal winters, we cooked batch after batch of sous vide butternut squash, and pureed them with a splash of cream for a velvety soup with vivid color. Night after night, I filled bowls with the rich potage, and topped it with delicacies such as seared foie gras, sauteed wild black trumpet mushrooms, and a pomegranate juice reduction. Sublime.
Today’s recipe is inspired by those upscale bowls of soup: a simple combination of apple, squash and onion, seasoned with salt, and thinned with a little cream. Garnished with diced apples, it’s fall in a bowl; and yes, it was cooked sous vide.
Now, I’m a fan of simple soup from scratch, and will be the first to admit that a sharp knife and a sturdy pot are the only requirements for a good soup, be it rustic, roasted or rich. Alternately, I also have enough of a background in professional cooking to know that ingredients slowly cooked in a water oven (or sous vide) will yield a superior soup.
Ten years ago, when I was manning the stove in various restaurants, the culinary term ‘sous vide’ was virtually unknown to anyone outside of processionals. Now, thanks to crazy-popular TV shows such as Top Chef, Master Chef, and Iron Chef, sous vide is fast gaining on culinary terms such as ‘braising’ or ‘searing’. There are even cookbooks devoted to the subject such as Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide and Sous Vide: Help for the Busy Cook.
When the kind folks behind Sous Vide Supreme contacted me to try one of their counter top water ovens, I agreed, as I was eager to see this beautiful new home version for myself. It has been really fun to recreate some of the recipes for my family I had tucked away from my restaurant days.
Danny, armed with his copy of Cooking for Geeks, is pretty excited to get into sous vide cooking. Being our resident numbers guy, he of course loves the science behind the sous vide method and I’m more than happy to let him share the kitchen.
I can see the sous vide supreme working out very well for our family thanks to my background and Danny’s obsession with temperature. We’ll keep you posted.
What is ‘sous vide’? It means to cook food in vacuum-sealed pouches, submerged in a water bath held at a precisely controlled temperature. Sous vide means “under vacuum” in French, as you can see from the images above. The first photo is before cooking, the second is after. (There’s a helpful video on the Sous Vide Supreme website that explains the cooking method with a great visual.)
What makes a sous vide soup superior? When cooked slowly, in a water bath, vegetables and fruits retain their full color and flavor as well as undergo a remarkable transformation in texture. Once pureed, the flavors seem intensified, and the resulting texture is soft and velvety. With just one bite of this soup, Danny was smitten.
5-ingredient Butternut Squash & Apple Soup (sous vide)
Fresh fall ingredients, cooked together sous vide, make for a surprisingly sophisticated soup.
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Soups & Stews
Prep Time: 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 2 hourshours
Total Time: 2 hourshours10 minutesminutes
Servings: 6people
Calories: 123kcal
Author: Aimee
Ingredients
1mediumbutternut squashpeeled and sliced
1largetart applesuch as Granny Smith, cored and sliced
1/2onionsliced, or 6 green onions, ends trimmed
1teaspoonsea salt
3/4cuplight cream
Instructions
Fill 2/3 full with water and preheat the sous vide unit to between 182 and 185 degrees F.
Place the sliced squash, apple and onion into a large, one-gallon food-grade pouch. Vacuum seal the bag to remove as much air as possible.
Submerge the pouch in the sous vide unit and cook for 2 hours until the squash and apples are quite soft. Check the pouches after 20 minutes to make sure they’re fully submerged. If they are floating, weigh them down with a mug or other heavy object.
When the squash is cooked, remove the pouch from the Supreme, and pour the contents into a blender. Puree until smooth.
Add sea salt and cream and puree again. Taste and add more salt if you like. Serve hot, garnished with diced apple if desired.
You can either roast butternut squash in its skin, halved, or cut into wedges. It can be served stuffed as a stunning main, as a simple side dish, stirred into risottos, pasta or salads, or blitzed into a soup. By peeling and dicing, the cubes of squash will become more caramelised, with plenty of texture.
Butternut squash contains considerable amounts of fiber, which can help you keep a healthy weight and regulate bowel movements. It's known to help prevent colorectal cancer while the beta-carotene in butternut squash can also improve eye health.
Butternut squash offers nutritional values like vitamin A, potassium, and fiber. Health benefits of this winter squash include managing high blood pressure, preventing asthma, and promoting healthy skin and hair. Contrary to the name, winter squash is grown in the summer and harvested in the fall.
Alternatively, serve it as an appetizer with a hearty vegetarian main dish like Roasted Cauliflower Steaks, Vegan Meatball Sandwiches, Homemade Mac and Cheese, Sun Dried Tomato Pasta, or a grilled cheese sandwich!
Why does my butternut squash soup taste bitter? Some butternut squash is more bitter than others, which may cause your soup to taste slightly bitter. If this is the case, try adding a bit more honey.
Generally, butternut squash is safe to feed to most pooches, unless your vet has advised otherwise. As a guide, we would recommend feeding small dogs no more than 1 or 2 teaspoons of butternut squash, whilst bigger dogs can eat up to 3 or 4 tablespoons of butternut squash.
The liquid is so strong that it can harden into protective scab if the squash becomes cut or damaged—much like a tree. This sap has the same effect on skin, it creates a tough film that can feel stiff, or even itchy.
Simply slice off the top and bottom, poke the squash all over with a fork and microwave it on high for about 3 minutes. When it's cool enough to handle, peel the squash. The softened flesh will make peeling (and slicing) way easier.
Is it better to roast butternut squash face up or down? I personally prefer to roast my butternut squash with the cut-side-up. In my opinion, roasting it cut-side-up allows for the butternut squash to caramelize, rather than just steam and cook.
Butternut squash is delicious and packed with vitamins. Choose firm squash that feel heavy for their size. You don't even need to remove the skin; just make sure you wash it well as it goes soft when cooking. Squash is packed with vitamin A, which helps us see in the dark!
That's right, you can eat butternut squash raw (yep, we said it). Raw butternut squash is carrot-like and holds up well in crunchy salads and slaws. If opting for raw squash over cooked squash, start by peeling away the tough outer skin (FYI, you can eat the skin when it's cooked.
Raw butternut squash is carrot-like and holds up well in crunchy salads and slaws. If opting for raw squash over cooked squash, start by peeling away the tough outer skin (FYI, you can eat the skin when it's cooked. It's full of fiber and completely edible when softened up a bit).
I love to grill it, roast it, and even eat it raw, but lately, I've been hooked on this sautéed yellow squash recipe. Yellow squash itself has a mild flavor, so I toss it with a bright herb oil as soon as it comes off the heat. Then, I pile on a savory panko topping for crunch.
To can pumpkin or squash: Cut the flesh into 1-inch cubes.Boil the cubes in water for 2 minutes.Fill the jars with cubes and cooking liquid, leaving 1-inch of headspace.
Cut each half into 1-inch-thick slices, then cut in the other direction to make 1-inch cubes. On a parchment-lined sheet pan or in a baking dish, toss cubes with olive oil and salt until coated. Arrange in a single layer. Roast until squash is tender, browned, and easily pierced with a fork, about 45-55 minutes.
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and Sous Vide: Help for the Busy Cook
.
, is pretty excited to get into sous vide cooking. Being our resident numbers guy, he of course loves the science behind the sous vide method and I’m more than happy to let him share the kitchen.
