My Chouchoux: Butternut Squash And Turnip Soup With French Lentils 南瓜蕪菁濃湯與法式綠扁豆

This recipe is actually inspired by a soup I had at Le Cercle (one of the hippest and one of my favourite places in Quebec) on New Year's Eve just 2 months ago. We wanted something light and easy for our tummy to start with - since we knew that it would have a lot more to take later on. It was supposed be the soupe du jour, and even though the waiter sort of told us what it was made of--you know, it was New Year's Eve, who was listening??? And forget about it, since everything was in French, too!!!

After tasting the soup, we and our friends were surprised how this ordinary looking soup tasted so unexpectingly good! Yet, nobody really remembered what exactly it was; we knew the color was kind of yellowish (which told me right away that it was likely made with some sort of squash) and it was topped with some French lentils. It was slightly sweet on the surface, but had a very mild hint of bitterness with a different kind of sweet taste underneath. It was simple, yet sophisticated and complex. It took me a few bites and some really clear thoughts to figure out what it might be - I think it was butternut squash with some sort of radish. (Perhaps I did?!) So you see, this is that kind of "mysterious" soup that could keep your guests guessing. After all, isn't it more fun when nobody can name all your ingredients?

Besides the above reasons for me to introduce you to this soup, I know many of us just got done swearing off our New Year's resolutions for eating light, consuming more vegetables, less gluten, less fat....etc., but after Valentine's Day, be honest, how many of you still keep the list in your head? Anyhow, I thought my job here could be to encourage everyone - including myself! - to stick to their resolutions. (>人<) We've also had an incredibly cold winter this year. (Yes, it's still ongoing!) If you live in a cold climate like us, you sure need a couple of good soup recipes to get by! This soup does not require many ingredients, and even though there aren't many varieties of vegetables around here in the winter, you can pretty much find most of the ingredients locally. So next time you're longing for some warmth in a delicious and nutritious bowl, I think this recipe will suit you well!

Butternut Squash And Turnip Soup With French Lentils (6-8 servings)

A: 1 medium sized onion, diced into 1/3"

1/2 C diced celery, cut into 1/3" dice

a few sprigs of thyme

1/2 t sea salt

B: 4 C butternut squash, cut into 2/3" dice

4 C turnip, cut into 2/3" dice

C: 1 medium sized apple, cut into 1/3" dice

1 qt chicken or vegetable broth (of course, the homemade broth is

preferable!)

D: 1 T grapeseed oil

1 T butter

sea salt and black pepper

extra-virgin olive oil

For The Garnish:

E: 1/2 C French green lentils

F: 1 T extra virgin olive oil

juice of half lemon

1/4 t sea salt and a little black pepper

1. In a large soup pot, heat ingredients D, add A and cook over low heat covered for 10 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Move around occasionally without letting the vegetables brown.

2. Turn the heat up a little to medium; add B and continue to cook covered for another 5 minutes, turning around occasionally.

3. Add C and bring it to a boil. Season with some sea salt and let it simmer for 20-25 minutes over low heat until all the vegetables are tender.

4. Let the soup cool off a little bit, blend the soup until the texture is smooth. *Add more water if necessary. You want it to be a little thick, not too runny.

5. Transfer the soup back to a pot and set aside.

6. Prepare E - the French lentils for the garnish. Follow the French Green Lentils recipe up to procedure 3 (click here for recipe). Transfer the lentils to a bowl and season well with F while it's hot.

7. Reheat the soup 15 minutes before your garnish is ready and check the seasoning for your soup.

8. Ladle the hot soup into individual bowls and garnish with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of lentils on top. Finish with a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and fresh black pepper.

- Yvonne

這個食譜其實是啟發於我在約兩個月前的除夕夜當晚，在Le Cercle(魁北克一家很時尚、也是我自己很喜愛的餐廳)喝的濃湯。由於知道那晚會很難控制的住那張貪吃的嘴，我們特別選當天的特別濃湯來開胃，想說比較清淡。雖然點菜時，侍者有向我們解釋是什麼樣的湯( 因為是當天的特別菜之一，所以沒有列在菜單上)，但在這種特別節日，酒一喝之後，誰會去仔細聽他在說什麼？更何況還是講法語哩!!!

當我們與朋友們嚐試了之後，大家都感覺這個看起來平凡的濃湯，味道卻異想不到的特別！但卻沒有人(包括我們當地的朋友)記得到底是什麼湯，只看的出顏色呈暗黃色(可以猜出應該有放南瓜類的東西)，湯的上面放了法式綠扁豆，喝起來的味道甜甜的，但又稍微帶一點苦味；看似簡單，卻又複雜的一道湯。我吃了幾口之後，才稍微吃出它大概含有的主要食材 - 冬南瓜與白蘿蔔。我最喜歡這種帶點"神秘"味道，並令人一邊吃一邊猜想的菜。不知道大家有沒有這樣的經驗：花了許多精力做出來的菜，結果另一半或朋友們馬上一口就被說中那道菜的主要食材，真的很氣人！

當然除了以上所提到介紹這濃湯給大家的原因之外，我猜不少朋友們在規劃新年新計劃時，例下不少想達到的目標，例如多攝取新鮮蔬菜、清淡食物、少吃油炸、甜食或麵質食物等等。但隨著日子一天一天過去，再加上新年及情人節才剛過完，難免也讓我們漸漸忘卻那些自己當時為自己例下的目標，因此我想趁機在此鼓勵與提醒大家不要輕易的放棄對自己的承諾。(其實這句話明明是在對自己說的吧?! (;¬_¬) 另外，今年在魁北克的冬季也特別的冷。如果您也像我們一樣是住在寒冷地帶，您肯定需要至少幾個美味的濃湯食譜來渡過這寒冷的季節！這個濃湯不但簡易，也不需要什麼很特殊的食材，就連在這裡這麼寒冷的地方，也可以輕易的買到所有的食材。所以下次有寒流來襲時，不防讓這道美味又具有豐富營養的濃湯來溫暖你的心吧！