Winter Squash Soup with Chipotle Peppers

Winter squash is here! The Farmer's Market had tons of pie pumpkins, acorn squash, butternut squash, etc. I picked up some carnival and butternut squash without having any clear idea of what to make with it. The carnival squash is in the acorn family, so I paired it with the butternut to make winter squash soup. On it's own it has a texture close to a chestnut, but it pureed well with the butternut for the soup, too.

Ingredients
1 small butternut squash
1 small acorn squash
4 tbsp olive oil
1 carrots, coarsely chopped
1 ribs of celery, coarsely chopped
1/2 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups vegetable broth
1/4 tsp chipotle seasoning or cayenne pepper/red pepper flakes
1/2 cup whipping cream (I used milk)
Salt and pepper to taste

Toppings
Sour cream
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
Chipotle peppers in adobo

Directions
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2) Cut butternut and acorn squash in half lengthwise. Use 2 tablespoons of olive oil to coat insides of squash. Lay face down on baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes or until tender.
3) Remove squash from oven and let cool. The squash can be cooked and cooled overnight, or well in advance of the soup preparation.

4) Use the reamining olive oil to saute carrots, celery, and onion in a medium sized stock pot until tender. Add garlic, salt, pepper, and chipotle seasoning, then saute an additional 2-3 minutes. 

5) Scoop meat from squash and add to pot with vegetables. Add vegetable broth, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. 
6) When vegetables are very tender use an immersion blender or food processor to puree the soup.
7) Add whipping cream or milk to the pureed soup, stir to blend and return to heat until ready to serve. Top with cilantro, a dollop of sour cream, and chipotle.

Serves 4

Sauteed Eggplant with Garlic, Cumin & Feta

A promised, more eggplant recipes! This one was made as an accompaniment to the Feta Cucumber sandwiches in my last post.

The original recipe called for the Garlic-Cumin concoction to be used as a vinaigrette, but I wanted something with cooked garlic, so I ended up throwing the vinaigrette in the pan with the eggplants at the last minute for a minute or two. Also, since I only had fingerling eggplants, I opted to sauté the eggplants instead of grilling them. 

Here is the original recipe, from Kalyn's Kitchen: Grilled Eggplant Recipe with Garlic-Cumin Vinaigrette, Feta, and Two Herbs

Ingredients
1 large fingerling eggplant, cut in uniform slices 3/4 inch thick
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup crumbled feta
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 shallot, finely minced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
pinch cayenne pepper
3 T extra-virgin olive oil

Directions
1. Put garlic, salt, lemon juice, and shallots or red onion into food processor fitted with steel blade, Pulse until all ingredients are well combined, then let sit for 10 minutes. (This could also be done in a blender.) After ten minutes, put mixture in small bowl, stir in ground cumin and cayenne pepper, then whisk in olive oil.
2. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat, and saute the eggplants for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic-cumin mixture to the pan and stir. Let it simmer with the eggplants for about a minute or two.
3. To serve, top with crumbled feta and herbs.

Hummus and Feta Sandwiches

I had a can of chickpeas sitting in the cupboard collecting dust, but I wanted to try something new (well, new to me). I love hummus, but Mark is not the kind of eater to eat finger foods unless it's at a party. We were planning on having some people over on the weekend, so I wanted to try making it before then. But that didn't solve the dilemma of having Mark try it unless it was incorporated into a meal, so that is where this recipe came in. I found some great Whole Grain Italian bread which was perfect for these sandwiches. The bread was lightweight but had a great texture to go with the hummus.  

The first time I made the sandwiches they seemed sort of dry, so I brushed some extra virgin olive oil on the bread before spreading the hummus. That really did the trick! Also, I only had crumbled Feta on hand but I used the biggest pieces, so it seemed to work without falling apart to much. If you slice from a block of feta, I would recommend using thinner slices if you don't want to overpower the hummus. Personally, I liked the thicker slices but Mark preferred the crumbles because he wanted to taste more of the hummus rather than the feta. Next time, I'll just slice the feta thinner for him :) 

A nice companion dish to the sandwiches is eggplant with garlic and cumin.

Adapted from bonappitit.com

Hummus

1 14- to 15-ounce can organic garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
1 garlic clove, peeled
3 tablespoons (or more) fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons minced seeded jalapeño chile

Using on/off turns, finely chop garbanzo beans and garlic in processor. Add 3 tablespoons lemon juice and remaining ingredients; process to coarse puree. Season to taste with salt and pepper and more lemon juice, if desired.

Note: Can be made 1 week ahead. Transfer to airtight container and chill.

Sandwiches
4 slices whole grain bread
1 cucumber, thinly sliced
8 fresh mint leaves
4 fresh cilantro sprigs
4 ounces feta cheese, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Brush one side of each bread slice with olive oil then spread 2 tablespoons hummus. Top 2 bread slices with sliced cucumber, mint, and cilantro, dividing equally. Arrange slices of feta atop cilantro. Top each with second bread slice and press gently to compact slightly.

Makes 2 sandwiches

Chickpea & Feta Veggie Burgers with Cilantro Garlic Yogurt Sauce

My friend and fellow foodie, Jeff came across this recipe and shared it with me a few months ago. I wasn't able to make it until I got a blender, but ideally this would be made in a food processor. It is reminiscent of falafels, one of my favorite foods. 

If you are in the cilantro hating camp, this sauce is not the one for you. But, if you love cilantro, I highly recommend trying this. It is not as garlicky as tzatziki sauce, but it has a more complex taste to it, probably from the mint and cayenne.

Adapted from RecipeZaar and Epicurious

Chickpea & Feta Veggie Burgers

2 scallions, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 large sweet onion, coarsely chopped
2 (15 ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed (3 cups)
1/4 cup tahini
3 eggs
1 medium carrot, chopped
1/4 cup feta cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups dry breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon olive oil (to taste)

1. Set the oven at 300 degrees. In a food processor, combine the scallions, garlic, onion, chickpeas, tahini, eggs, carrot, feta, Parmesan, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Pulse the mixture until well blended. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl. Stir in the bread crumbs.
2. Shape the chick pea mixture into 8 patties. Set the oven at 300 degrees. Have on hand a rimmed baking sheet.
3. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Working in two batches, cook 4 patties for 6 minutes or until browned on the bottom. Turn and cook for 5 to 6 minutes more or until the patties are brown on the bottom and hot in the center.
4. Place the burgers on a baking sheet; keep warm in the oven. Cook the remaining patties in the same way.
5. Serve in halved pita pockets with a dollop of cilantro garlic yogurt sauce.

Makes 8 large burgers

Cilantro Garlic Yogurt Sauce

1 1/2 cups plain whole-milk Greek-style yogurt
3/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
4 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
3/4 teaspoon cayenne

Stir together all ingredients with 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste), then chill, covered, at least 30 minutes (for flavors to blend). Bring to room temperature before serving.

Makes 2 cups of sauce

Note: If you can't find Greek-style yogurt, you can thicken 3 cups regular plain whole-milk yogurt by draining it in a paper-towel-lined sieve, chilled, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day. Sauce can be chilled up to 6 hours