Peanut Squash Soup

     Once a year, J.T. must attend a Northridge High school football game.  For the last three years, I have had the privilege of being his date J.  J.T.’s middle school kids are given the opportunity to play with the high school band at the last home football game of the year.  In previous years, J.T. and I have gone out to eat after the game.  I am not sure why I remember all this, but two years ago we ate at a Mexican restaurant and one year ago we ate at Wendy’s (chili and baked potatoes for both of us).  This year we decided we would eat at home – Peanut Squash soup and whole grain popovers to be exact.  Lately, every time J.T. and I have eaten out, it has been a disappointment.  The quality of the food is not what it should be and is not worth our money.  Yes, we still eat at Zoe’s Kitchen on Wednesday, but even the quality of their food could be improved upon.  The only restaurant in Tuscaloosa worth every penny is Epiphany Café.  J.T. and I had our rehearsal dinner at Epiphany’s and the food is always outstanding! Back to the soup – I made this soup and the popovers in less than an hour the morning of the Northridge game.  All we had to do was reheat and eat.  The meal is also great because it is budget friendly.  The peanut butter serves as the protein in this meal – no meat required.  This soup has a sweet and spicy flavor.  If you would like to cut down on the amount of heat, decrease or omit the cayenne pepper and crushed red pepper flakes.

Recipe adapted from 100 Days of Real Food

Ingredients

·         2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

·         2 pounds butternut squash, cubed into big chunks

·         1 large onion, diced

·         6 garlic cloves, chopped

·         1 teaspoon cumin

·         1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

·         ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

·         4 cups vegetable stock

·         ¾ cup smooth peanut butter

·         2 tablespoons tomato paste

·         ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Directions

1.      Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the squash, onion, garlic, cumin, kosher salt, and cayenne pepper.  Sauté until the onion becomes translucent, about 7 minutes. 

2.      Stir in the vegetable stock, peanut butter, tomato paste, and red pepper flakes.   Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the butternut squash breaks in half when pierced with a fork.  Serves 5 to 6. 

Note:  I made this using my own homemade vegetable stock.  If you are using store bought vegetable stock, you may need to decrease the amount of kosher salt.   

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