Alternatives to roasting squash for soup?
Premise that you can access merely an electric range, and can't access any functioning oven, not even a toaster one. Then what can you do in lieu of roasting your squash? Pan-fry or caramelize it in a cast-iron skillet?
Roasted Acorn Squash and Apple Soup - Making Thyme for Health
I find that acorn squash is a little bit harder to peel and chop so I decided to roast it instead of boil it in the pot. I know roasting it might sound like a lot of work but it’s actually pretty easy.
After you slice of the top, you cut in half, clean out the seeds, rub it with a little bit of oil and then bake it in the oven face down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for about 45 minutes.
Holiday Soup: Roasted Acorn Squash Soup with Sage and Sour Cream - Family Spice
To make the flavors of this soup pop some more, I roasted the acorn squash instead of just sautéing them or boiling them in broth. I also added some carrots – hello, even more beta carotene! After the veggies were browned from roasting, I added it to my pot of sautéed onions and poured in some vegetable broth.
Best Answer
It is easy to create a little oven on your range top in a pan with a lid.
- simply cook on low heat with a well-fitting lid on the pan (I use a glass lid so I can see the food).
- if you want to steam the food for part or all of the cook, just add a little water to the pan
- for the ultimate stove-top oven, put your food on a small rack to raise it off the pan's surface so it will get much less direct heat (see photo below).
If you want to caramelize the squash you can do so using options 1 or 3 above very easily. Directly on the heat will be faster but more aggressive, and you'll probably want to use a little oil or other fat. Let it brown on one side and then turn it over. Depending on the thickness of the cut you may want to turn it more frequently so it cooks through tender by the time it's browned on both sides.
Put it on a rack on lower heat if you want a longer bake time, more gently like an oven. This is an especially good method if you want to bake it dry with no fat.
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Do you need to peel butternut squash for soup?
You can eat the skin, so there's no need to peel it. Simply halve it, scoop out the seeds and chop it into chunks, then roast it and add it to a warm winter salad or throw it into curries, stews or soups. You can also roast the seeds and eat them as a snack or sprinkled over a finished dish.How do I thicken butternut squash soup?
The easiest way to thicken the soup is to add in a bit of flour or cornstarch. It's up to you which you want to add but just make certain that you're adding in a small amount at a time. If you do happen to add too much, you can always pour in more chicken stock or chicken broth to help thin it out a bit.What is butter squash?
Butternut squash is a type of winter squash with pale orange skin and a bright orange interior. Both the skin and the flesh are hard and firm, and it's shaped almost like an elongated pear. Like pumpkins and zucchini, butternut squash is a member of the cucurbitaceae family.Should you roast squash cut side up or down?
I like to roast the winter squash face down on a baking sheet. The cut side, where the flesh meets the baking sheet, gets slightly browned and adds to the flavor. Feel free to line your baking sheet with parchment paper first for easy clean up. You can tell when it is done by piercing them with a knife.BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP | how to make roasted butternut squash soup
More answers regarding alternatives to roasting squash for soup?
Answer 2
Assuming you have a cooktop of some kind, a campfire or other way of heating a pan then pan frying it would be the way to go. You'd want to slice it or chop it into small chunks in order to get more surface area onto the pan. If you just halve it and fry the edges you won't get much flavor.
You'll need to peel it before you fry it as you aren't cooking it through, just giving it some color.
Answer 3
They cook fine in a microwave , little less time than a potato. Mine has an automatic for potatoes , that works well. Poke a few holes in the skin to let out steam .
Answer 4
If the goal is to avoid that painful pre-cooked peeling part of squash (acorn's the worst), pick a variety that can be more easily peeled and pan-fried or cooked directly in your soup/stew.
Also, consider getting a better/new y-peeler... they're cheap if you go to a restaurant supply store.
Lastly, if you really can't avoid it, try steaming them until you can scrape the pulp out. Maybe sear them first to get a bit of the caramelization flavour.
Check-out the SeriousEats guide to squash - https://www.seriouseats.com/2017/11/winter-squash-shopping-guide.html
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Nataliya Vaitkevich, Nataliya Vaitkevich, Valeria Boltneva, Nataliya Vaitkevich