Buttermilk Squash Soup Recipe

For my California friends who are telling me the weather has been useasonably cool, I am sending a recipe to warm your soul. However, here in Ohio we are looking in the other direction from oppressive heat and humidity. I will save this recipe to use for a cool and rainy day. This recipe comes from Heidi Swanson and her blog http://www.101cookbooks/. She states you can use any summer squash, yellow or zucchini. She also does a nice version with peas - also good with cumin butter. Heidi says it is nice to have the cumin butter on hand. She even suggests making a double or triple batch of it.

Buttermilk Squash Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

Cumin Butter

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/4 cup unsalted butter

fine grain sea salt

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Directions:

In a skillet, over medium heat, toast the cumin seeds until they are fragrant. Just a minute or two. Use a mortar and pestle to pound the seeds into a fine powder. Alternately, you can use an electric spice grinder. Set aside. In the same skillet, melt the butter and cook until it is brown and gives off a delicious nutty aroma. Remove from heat, stir the cumin into the butter along with the generous couple pinches of salt, then set aside in a warm place. You want the butter to stay liquid until you are ready to use it.

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Soup Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter

2 medium yellow onions, chopped

2 medium garlic cloves

1 pound potatoes cut into 1/4 inch cubes

2 1/2 pounds yellow summer squash, cut into 1/2 inch slices

4 cups good tasting vegetable stock

1 cup buttermilk

1 bunch chives chopped

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Directions:

To make the soup, heat the butter in your largest pot or stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, garlic, and a bit of salt. Saute for a few minutes, or until the onions start to get translucent. Stir in the potatoes and squash and cook for another 7 to 10 minutes, or until the squash starts to soften. Stir in 3 1/2 cups of the stock (most of it) - the stock should just barely cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender, roughly another 25 minutes. Remove the soup from the heat, puree completely with a hand blender, then stir in the buttermilk. If you need to thin the soup with a bit more stock, you can do so. Taste and add more salt if needed. Serve each bowl topped with plenty of the cumin butter, and a sprinkling of chives. Serves 10.