The last few weeks I've gotten into a weekend cooking routine. Part of that routine is roasting butternut squash and puree them so they would be ready-to-eat throughout the week. It was the same thing last night except I got the idea to add some miso to the puree for a hint of asian flavour. A "hint" turned into a "blast" after I scooped out two huge spoonfuls of miso and the whole batch of puree turned into a salty mess.
There's no good reason to throw away food so obviously I tried to think of ways to salvage this bowl of beautiful golden puree. That's when it occurred to me...this is just like canned condensed soup! I can thin it with hot water or dashi as needed and I'll have instant butternut squash miso soup! This is one brilliant idea because I love hot soup for lunch at the office but I'm a klutz with transporting liquid in my lunch bag. This is the perfect solution because chances of spills and leaks for this thick puree is pretty slim. The following is the approximate step in case you want to give it a try too:
- Roast butternut squash in 375F oven until tender.
- Peel the squash and puree it in a food processor.
- Add generous spoonfuls of miso (I used a red organic miso) and puree some more. It should taste too salty for straight consumption.
- Store in fridge as needed.
- When you're ready to make soup, have hot water or dashi (japanese soup stock) ready. Plop a few generous spoonfuls of puree into a bowl and thin with hot water until desired consistency.
