Butternut Squash Soup & Hummus

My mom always told me that it was a bad idea to go shopping when you’re hungry. Yet, unfailingly, when I get hungry is when I notice I have nothing in the refrigerator. Back in the states I would end up with things like Chex Mix and Little Debbie bars.

Now in Italy, I end up with things like a large Butternut Squash. Actually, huge. It was the entire length of the shopping bag. But I wanted it.

S didn’t notice me slip it lug it into our grocery cart, but when I put it on the checkout conveyor belt, its mass was hard to ignore. He cocked an eyebrow at me, and waited for my explanation. I instead shrugged, lifted my chin and continued to unload the cart.

But he was right. What was I doing with this humongous thing? It wouldn’t even fit on my cutting board, it was that big. It would have been a great Thanksgiving squash. To feed about 25 people.

 

But I decided I would roast it in the oven like my mom always did. I always liked to watch but wasn’t that crazy about the end result. Orange mushy stuff? More stuffing, please.

Getting close to the monster:

 

I had some brown sugar left over from the birthday coffee cake, so I used that with some butter, salt and pepper. Here it is, ready to go into the oven.

 

There was so much of it that I didn’t even bother with some of the less-cooked bits when I took it out. I decided to make a Butternut Squash – Tomato soup.

I sauteed some onions and garlic in Pugliese olive oil (I’m getting so used to this) and then added a can of crushed tomatoes. After a few minutes, I added almost two cups of the squash pulp I had smashed with a fork (no potato masher yet), with a little hot vegetable broth. I didn’t need much because the tomatoes and fresh squash had plenty of liquid. Then I added some peperoncino (hot pepper) and a few spices.

I used my hand blender, a gift from our old landlord, to homogenize everything. I added a few drops of balsamic vinegar on top instead of mixing it in (though I saw a few recipes that called for this).

Reincarnation #1: Butternut Squash & Tomato Soup

 

But I still had about half of the squash left. Ack! Figuring S had had enough squash for the weekend, I froze the rest of the pulp. Luckily during the week I got inspired by a post on Slashfood about a recipe for pumpkin hummus. I had found my second reincarnation for the squash!

It wasn’t my first time making hummus and at least this time I didn’t have to use a fork to squash everything like in the past. I modified their recipe because I wanted to use what I had on hand (and of course, make it better).

Butternut Squash Hummus Recipe

1 can garbanzo beans (ceci in italian)
2 c. squash pulp
1 Tbsp. Tahini (or Tahina as it was called here)
1-2 cloves minced garlic
1-2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
2 dashes hot pepper
1 tsp. lemon juice
Onion/garlic powder, if desired
Lots of fresh-ground black pepper

This came out really good and I proceeded to eat most of it. I like it best with taralli from Puglia, these being with hot peppers. I can’t seem to get enough of them.

Reincarnation #2: Butternut Squash Hummus

 

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I got meme’d by Beth and though by rule I don’t really like memes (in from 1995-2006 I have broken approximately 53,008 chain letters via email) but since Beth and I have uncanny similar taste and interests and I’m thinking of letting her come up with a name for my first-born child (not soon) just to see if we have the same suggestion, I figured I’d do hers.

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