Sandyj
Sous Chef
Last night I was inspired to use up some vegetables I had bought over the last week or so & hadn't cooked yet....They were: cauliflower, broccoli, butternut squash, potatoes and carrots.
In an 8 qt pot, I sauteed 4 med yellow onions & 3 garlic cloves in about 3-4 tblsp. olive oil. To that I added 6 cut up carrots, then the cut up cauliflower (1/2 head) and broccoli (1/2 head), letting everything "sweat" for a few minutes. Added 2 tsp kosher salt and about 15 grinds of fresh black pepper. Finally, I added 2 med. butternut squash (peeled & cut up) and about 5 med potatoes. I was going to top up with chicken broth, but decided on plain water (adding just enough to cover all the veg with about 1/2" to spare), since I had a vegetarian friend visiting. After a few minutes I added two more tsp kosher salt (by now it was about 5 qts). I let this simmer for about 30 minutes. I used by handy dandy hand held blender to mix everything (almost like a puree) and added about 1/4 cup of fresh, heavy, cream, mixing again.
It came out very good (says husband and daughter), but I felt there was something missing. I didn't achieve the right balance. I think maybe the soup needed some acidity?
Sherry? Cheese? I didn't want to ruin it, so I took some in a bowl and grated a bit of nutmeg in it, and that really tasted very nice.
I didn't have a recipe for this, was just following my nose, so to speak.
Any suggestions as to what might have been that missing ingredient.
In an 8 qt pot, I sauteed 4 med yellow onions & 3 garlic cloves in about 3-4 tblsp. olive oil. To that I added 6 cut up carrots, then the cut up cauliflower (1/2 head) and broccoli (1/2 head), letting everything "sweat" for a few minutes. Added 2 tsp kosher salt and about 15 grinds of fresh black pepper. Finally, I added 2 med. butternut squash (peeled & cut up) and about 5 med potatoes. I was going to top up with chicken broth, but decided on plain water (adding just enough to cover all the veg with about 1/2" to spare), since I had a vegetarian friend visiting. After a few minutes I added two more tsp kosher salt (by now it was about 5 qts). I let this simmer for about 30 minutes. I used by handy dandy hand held blender to mix everything (almost like a puree) and added about 1/4 cup of fresh, heavy, cream, mixing again.
It came out very good (says husband and daughter), but I felt there was something missing. I didn't achieve the right balance. I think maybe the soup needed some acidity?
Sherry? Cheese? I didn't want to ruin it, so I took some in a bowl and grated a bit of nutmeg in it, and that really tasted very nice.
I didn't have a recipe for this, was just following my nose, so to speak.
Any suggestions as to what might have been that missing ingredient.