Winter Vegetable Puree Recipes

WINTER SQUASH PUREE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the acorn the squash in half and scoop out seeds and filaments. Set them, cut side up in a baking dish just large enough to hold them comfortably and pour hot water down sides of dish to come up about 1-inch up the squash. Bake for an hour or until entirely tender. Peel away skin and puree in food processor with maple syrup and butter; season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

WINTER VEGETABLE PUREE

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large skillet. Saut?egetables and pears for 20 to 25 minutes, until tender. Add a little water if necessary to prevent sticking.
• Puree mixture in a food processor. Stir in nutmeg, and season to taste.

ROASTED WINTER VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Cut the carrots, parsnips, sweet potato, and butternut squash in 1 to 1 1/4-inch cubes. All the vegetables will shrink while baking, so don't cut them too small.
• Place all the cut vegetables in a single layer on 2 baking sheets. Drizzle them with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss well. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until all the vegetables are tender, turning once with a metal spatula.
• Sprinkle with parsley, season to taste, and serve hot.

WINTER VEGETABLE PUREE

Steps:

• Place the celery root, potatoes, turnips and leeks in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until all of the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.
• Drain well and pass the vegetables through a ricer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Divide among 4 plates and serve immediately.

WINTER SQUASH PUREE

Steps:

• Boil: Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then add 1 tablespoon salt and the squash. Return to a boil, then simmer until very soft, about 10 to 15 minutes. Drain well.
• Dry: Return squash to pot and cook over low heat, stirring, to dry squash, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Puree: Working in batches, transfer squash to a food processor. Puree with butter until very smooth, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately.

PURéE OF WINTER VEGETABLE SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion. Cook, stirring, until it begins to soften, about three minutes. Add the leeks and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until tender but not browned, about five more minutes. Add the carrots, kohlrabi, turnips, potatoes and water or stock. Bring to a boil.
• Meanwhile, wrap the ginger, bay leaf, thyme, parsley and peppercorns in cheesecloth. Tie them up to make a bouquet garni, and add to the pot. Add salt to taste (about 2 teaspoons), reduce the heat, cover and simmer one hour. Remove the cheesecloth bag, and discard.
• Blend the soup until smooth with an immersion blender or in batches in a regular blender. (Do not put the top on tight; cover the top with a towel to prevent hot splashes.) Pour the soup through a strainer into a bowl; press the soup through the strainer with the back of a ladle or with a pestle. Return to the pot and heat through. Add lots of freshly ground pepper, taste and adjust salt, and serve.

WINTER ROOT VEGETABLE SOUP

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Combine parsnips, carrots, celery root, turnips, sweet potato, and butternut squash in a large roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil, and season with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Toss vegetables to evenly distribute seasonings.
• Roast in the preheated oven until the vegetables are easily pierced with a fork, 30 to 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Stir in the celery and onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Pour in the vegetable broth and bring to a simmer, uncovered. Stir in the roasted vegetables and continue simmering for 10 minutes. Puree the soup using an immersion blender. Stir in the half and half, and season with salt and pepper, if necessary. If the soup becomes too thick, add more vegetable broth.

ROASTED WINTER VEGETABLE SOUP

Steps:

• With a mortar and pestle, grind together rosemary and kosher salt. Pour in olive oil and continue to mash until the oil starts to turn a darker green. Set aside for about an hour.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Coat a shallow roasting pan with cooking spray.
• Place the squash, rutabagas, parsnips and potatoes in a large bowl. Pour the olive oil mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into the bowl. Toss vegetables with oil to coat.
• Evenly spread vegetables on the prepared pan. Roast 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until nicely browned and cooked through. You may need to remove some of the smaller pieces from the oven before all of the vegetables are cooked to avoid burning them.
• While the vegetables are roasting, simmer chicken stock in a large pot over medium low heat. When the vegetables are done add them to the simmering chicken stock and simmer together for about 10 minutes.
• Use an immersion blender to puree the soup in the pot, or puree in batches in a blender or food processor. Add extra broth or water if the soup is too thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve in warmed bowls, garnishing each serving by drizzling a quarter teaspoon of balsamic vinegar and a quarter teaspoon of white truffle oil over the soup.

AUTUMN ROOT VEGETABLE PURéE

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, combine the turnips, carrots, parsnip, sweet potato, and rutabaga, add a good pinch of salt, and cover by 2 inches with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are tender, 30 to 40 minutes.
• Drain the vegetables and then return them to the saucepan to dry out over medium heat for 2 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to a food mill and puree. Add the butter and salt and pepper to taste, and reheat if necessary before serving.

PUREED MIXED VEGETABLE SOUP

Steps:

• Sweat aromatics Melt butter in a medium stockpot over medium heat. Cook onion and garlic (if using), stirring constantly, until softened and translucent, about 3 minutes.
• Add base vegetables and stock Add potato, broccoli, and carrots along with enough stock (or water) to just cover. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Add spinach and continue cooking until vegetables can easily be mashed with the back of a wooden spoon, about 5 minutes more.
• Puree Reserve 1 cup liquid for thinning soup. Puree the rest of the contents in a blender, food processor, or food mill, working in batches as necessary (do not fill blender or processor more than halfway, and cover the lid with a kitchen towel while machine is running).
• Finish soup Return puree to clean pot, and set over low heat; whisk in cream (or buttermilk), if using, and add enough reserved liquid to thin soup to desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, or let cool completely, then refrigerate in a covered container. Reheat over moderate heat, just to warm through, thinning with more liquid as necessary.
• FOLLOW THE BASIC RECIPE, adding 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin and 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander when sweating the aromatics and using 1 pound cauliflower (1 head), trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces and the same amount of potato for the base vegetables. Proceed with the recipe to simmer and puree. Serves 6.
• TO MAKE THE SOUP, FOLLOW basic recipe to sweat the aromatics, then add 1 can (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes or 2 pounds fresh tomatoes, blanched and peeled (page 381), as the base vegetable, and 1 1/2 cups stock or water. Proceed with recipe, simmering tomatoes 10 minutes (they should be soft and beginning to fall apart). Puree and finish with heavy cream, if desired. (serves 4)
• FOLLOW THE BASIC RECIPE, sweating 1 piece (1 inch) fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced, along with the onion and 1 small clove garlic. Then add 1 1/2 pounds carrots (8 medium), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds, as the base vegetable, and 4 cups water. Proceed with recipe to simmer and puree. Do not finish with cream or buttermilk. (serves 4)
• FOLLOW THE BASIC RECIPE, sweating 3 medium leeks, white and pale-green parts only cut into 1/2-inch-thick half-moons (2 1/4 cups) and washed well (page 32), for aromatics, then adding 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes (2 large), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks (4 cups), for the base vegetable, and 3 1/2 cups stock or water. Proceed with recipe, simmering for about 15 minutes, then remove from heat. Puree, then add 3/4 cup each heavy cream and buttermilk. Thin with water or stock to reach desired consistency. Cool soup completely before refrigerating in an airtight container, up to 3 days; thin with stock or water as necessary before serving. (serves 6)
• FOLLOW THE BASIC RECIPE, omitting garlic and sweating 1 Bosc pear, peeled, cored, and quartered, along with the onion. Then add stock or water and use 1 1/4 pounds winter squash (butternut, acorn, or kabocha), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch chunks, for the base vegetable, and proceed with recipe to simmer until tender and puree. Finish with 1/2 cup buttermilk, if desired. (serves 4 to 6)
• FOLLOW THE BASIC RECIPE to sweat the aromatics, then add 3 1/2 cups stock or water and bring to a boil. For the base vegetables, add 2 pounds fresh green peas, shelled (2 cups), and return to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until bright green and tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Then stir in 1 pound (2 bunches) fresh flat-leaf spinach (in batches if necessary, stirring until each is wilted) and cook until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Puree and finish, thinning with water as desired, then season with 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice along with salt and pepper. (serves 4)