By now we all know one of the thing San Fransisco is famous for is their Sourdough bread, and the bakery that made the bread famous is Boudin Bakery.
Walking on Jefferson street, tourist or non tourist the 30 feet high glass window bakery will attract your attention. And when you get closer, watching the bakers in action and moving baked goods through the overhead conveyor belts is a sight not to be missed!
Among their bakery menu is the soup bowl; a creamy soup served in a hearty bread bowl. I usually go for their creamy of tomato soup but whenever they have their seasonal butternut squash soup I say ‘step aside tomato soup!’
As it’s a long way to SF for a soup, I decided to make MY version of butternut squash soup!
‘But Janki, Boudin is in Sunnyvale as well!’
‘I know! But Sunnyvale is no San Francisco! Duhh!’
You would find tons of recipes of butternut squash soup and frankly I get burst of flavors every time I make Cookie and Kate’s Thai curried butternut squash soup. Inspired from the spicy thai curry flavor I mustered the courage to experiment by adding red pepper flakes to a basic butternut squash soup recipe. In addition I am adding saffron bring out the color and the fragrance and orange zest to give a tangy twist.
Don’t forget the toppings, it will take your soup to 110% perfection!
Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 large white onion chopped into big wedges
- 1 medium butternut squash peeled, halved, seeded and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 4 cups vegetable broth low sodium
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/4 tsp saffron threads
- zest of half orange
- 3/4 cup creme fraiche
- chopped cilantro garnish
- toasted pepitas for topping
- dried cranberries for topping
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 F. In a large mixing bowl drizzle olive oil over cut onion and squash and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat.
- Transfer to a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil; spread the veggies into a single layer. Roast in the oven for about 25 minutes or until vegetables are soft and caramelized. Set aside to cool.
- Combine the vegetable broth, pepper flakes, saffron and orange zest in a large pot over medium high heat and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, then add the roasted squash and onions.
- Let the mixture simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from heat and stir in creme fraiche.
- Blend until smooth using an immersion blender, or transfer the soup to a free-standing blender. Be careful as the mixture will be hot.
- Transfer to serving bowls. Top with toasted pepitas, cranberries and chopped cilantro.
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