Fall is Here, Time for a Warming Bowl of Heart Healthy Soup

We all want to eat better but most of us think that eating healthy means boring, bland foods. Not so says Michael Fenster, chef, practicing cardiologist, and health columnist for the Tampa Tribune. “When talking to audiences about healthy eating or fighting obesity, I am constantly asked two questions: ‘what should I eat?,’ and ‘does it taste good?’ My answer is always the same: eat as much fresh, unprocessed food as you can and yes, eating healthy can taste very good.”

Fall brings a great harvest of fresh, seasonal vegetables. Michael’s Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Tomato Coulis and Tarragon & Poblano Chili Oil is heart-healthy, easy to make, and absolutely delicious.

“Winter squash, like other colorful veggies, are rich in carotenes. Carotenes are the compounds that give winter squashes like butternut and pumpkin and carrots their yellow, orange or red colors. They are powerful plant components that have demonstrated a potential benefit in cancer prevention and in reducing the development of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. These members of the Cucurbitaceae family are rich in potassium, manganese, copper, folic acid, vitamin B1 (Thiamin) and vitamins A and C. They are also a great source of fiber.”

Warm up your day with this easy and elegant soup.
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Tomato Coulis and Tarragon & Poblano Chili Oil
Makes 16 8-oz servings
100 Calories per serving; 3g fat; 160 mg Sodium; 15g Carbohydrate; 4 g Protein

Butternut squash has a fantastic, subtly sweet earthiness that echoes autumn. This creamy soup uses a combination of classic soup pot vegetables and chicken stock to form a backdrop to highlight these flavors. Honey and maple syrup add a flavorful sweetness without being cloying. The roasted poblano chilies bring a touch of heat to offset that sweetness and add an element of the wood fire; a particularly potent fall scent. The herbal tarragon and splash of sweet roasted tomatoes in the coulis remind us of summer’s bounty; fading but not quite yet gone. This soup is a perfect transition through the gamut of flavors and sensations as summer yields into fall. By roasting the squash, you scent your home with a whiff of fall that no Yankee Candle can match. You’ll also have a powerhouse of nutrition to use the whole week long (it freezes well, too).

Michael recommends using homemade chicken stock to eliminate the large amounts of sodium, other additives and preservatives found in store-bought stock.

2 (about 1 pound each) butternut squash
1 Tbs butter
2 Tbs oil
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 cup sweet onion (rough chop)
2 carrots (rough chop)
2 ribs of celery (rough chop)
2 leeks (white part only) (rough chop)
1 shallot (rough chop)
2 cloves garlic (rough chop)
Juice of 1 lemon
½ cup white wine
2 qts chicken stock (or vegetable nage for vegetarian version)
1 Tbs maple syrup
1 Tbs honey
Roasted Grape Tomato Coulis (recipe follows)
Roasted Tarragon & Poblano Oil (Recipe follows)
Roasted corn for garnish (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Peel, seed and roughly chop the squash. Place in an oven proof baking dish and lightly cover with 1 Tbs oil, salt and pepper. Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until tender. Remove the squash and allow it to cool.

In a large heavy bottomed pot, add the butter and remaining oil. Sweat the vegetables for several minutes; do not allow them to brown. Add the lemon juice and the white wine. Allow the wine to cook off until almost gone. Add the chicken stock, maple syrup and honey. Bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes. Then in small batches in a blender or food processor, or using an immersion blender, blend the soup until it is smooth and creamy throughout.

To serve, place the soup in the serving dish. Drizzle with the tomato coulis and the tarragon & roasted poblano chili oil and garnish with fire roasted corn.

Roasted Grape Tomato Coulis
1 pound sweet grape tomatoes
1 Tbs tomato paste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place the tomatoes in an oven proof dish and lightly drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes, until the tomatoes just start to split. Transfer to a food processor and puree. Run the pureed tomatoes through a fine sieve and add in the tomato paste.

Tarragon Poblano Chili Oil
1 ounce fresh tarragon
1 red pepper
6 poblano peppers
¾ cup olive oil

To roast the red peppers and poblano peppers, place them over the hottest part of a grill or directly over a burner flame or under a broiler. Allow the skin to char and then allow the peppers to rest sealed in a zip loc bag. After a few minutes it will be easy to remove the skins. Slice the peppers and remove the seeds. Remove the leaves from the tarragon and discard the stems. Place the peppers in the food processor along with the tarragon and oil. Puree. Strain the puree through a fine sieve and reserve the oil.

Roasted Corn Garnish
2 ears of corn, roasted
Juice of 2 limes
Remove the kernels from the ears. Mix with the lime juice.

Copyright Michael Fenster