Healthy Greek Living Challenge- Autumn Squash Soup With HGE Greek Yogurt [Recipes]

October 30, 2013 | Posted in Cooking | By Lisa Wilk

2 Comments

I had fun developing my recipe for Healthy Greek Eats final challenge this week, because I am a pumpkin junkie and had created the perfect Pumpkin Smoothie. I popped onto the HGE Facebook page yesterday and there was Hugs ‘n Kitchens version of a perfect Pumpkin Pie Smoothie. . .which was almost identical to my Pumpkin Pie Smoothie. Sigh. Check out her post and pictures, because they are great. (Love the peeps!) I know the smoothie is tasty, because of my experiments at home.

While I use HGE Greek yogurt in parfaits, use it to make delicious pumpkin bread and also use it to marinade chicken and fish- I had recently used the Healthy Greek Eats Greek yogurt in a delicious fall soup.  I thought I’d share this recipe with you and since the temps are dipping back down this weekend, I hope you’ll whip up a batch!

Autumn Squash Soup with HGE Greek Yogurt

Ingredients:
1 medium butternut squash (about 2 lbs), halved
1 can of solid pack pumpkin
5 cups vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups Vidalia onions, chopped
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg or mace, freshly grated
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon fine black pepper, freshly ground
1/2 cup HGE Greek yogurt

Optional spice additions and variations:
2 tsps Chipotle Powder OR 3 tsp Curry Powder OR 2 tsp Garam Masala

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Cut the Butternut Squash in half (leave in seeds), rub both cut side with EVOO and place cut sides down on a sheet pan. Roast 25-35 minutes until squash is soft to the touch. Remove pan from oven and with tongs flip squash over so the cut side up, to cool more quickly. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large pan over medium heat, saute the onions with 1-2 tablespoons of  EVOO until the onions are caramelized. Add a dash of salt and pepper, then add 1 cup of solid pack pumpkin and heat the mixture though for a minute or two. Whisk or stir in vegetable stock.

When the roasted Butternut Squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out the pulp and seeds (So easy now that it’s roasted!) and discard. Scoop out the roasted butternut squash with a large spoon and whisk or stir into the vegetable stock. Add nutmeg (or mace), salt, pepper and preferred spice variation of your choice or just enjoy without the extra spices. Use immersion blender in pot to puree until soup until the mixture is completely smooth. If you don’t have an immersion blender, transfer to a blender or food processor and puree the soup in batches until smooth.

Cover the pot and reduce the heat to low, add in bay leaf and simmer for 20 minutes or until ready to serve. If mixture is thickens too much- add a splash of stock, water or apple juice to reach desired consistency.

Now it’s time to eat! Remove the soup from heat, take out the bay leaf. Add the HGE Greek yogurt and stir to fully incorporate. Taste the soup and adjust seasoning to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper if needed.

Ladle into 4-6 soup bowls and enjoy!

Check out my recipes for Falafel Pita Pocket sandwiches with Healthy Greek Eats Hummus and Chicken Pita Pocket sandwiches with Healthy Greek Eats Tzatziki from the week 1 and week 2 challenges. A quick reminder that the HGE products are made locally and are preservative free, so plan on using them within 3-5 of purchase. The Healthy Greek Eats products are currently available at The Meat House in Winter Park and on Saturdays at the Casselberry Farmer’s Market. The full line of Health Greek Eats products, along with their great recipes and serving suggestions are on the  Healthy Greek Eats Facebook page.

Bonus Taste Cook Sip Recipe

Layered Mediterranean Dip is a nice option for tailgating or taking to a pot luck. It’s great served with baked pita chips, tortilla chips and/or fresh pita bread wedges. If you have any leftover dip, it’s wonderful the next day in a pita pocket with chopped lettuce or spinach for lunch or a snack. It can also be dropped in dollops, on a bowl of romaine lettuce for an instant salad.

Layered Mediterranean Dip
1 (8 ounce) container HGE Original hummus
1 (8 ounce) container HGE Spicy Feta Dip
1 cup thinly sliced roasted red peppers, fresh or jarred that have been drained
1/2 Cup diced or chopped cucumbers
1 (6 ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped
1 cup plain HGE Greek-style yogurt
1/2 cup sliced & pitted Kalamata olives
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
Pita chips or Pita Bread

Make sure all jarred/canned items have been properly drained and blotted dry with a paper towel if needed. Spread HGE Original hummus evenly in the bottom of an 8-inch square dish, deep plate or a platter. Top with a thin layer of HGE Spicy Feta Dip, (We use the whole container, but 1/2 a container is a good place to start as it’s spicy.) Arrange roasted peppers, then artichokes hearts, then cucumbers over the top to form a nice layer. Drop yogurt in dollops over the toppings, then spread out to make an thin, even layer. Sprinkle with olives, green onions and feta and serve with pita chips on the side. Cover dip and refrigerate until serving.

Disclosure: I received HGE products to sample and taste for this challenge, I also bought products to participate in this challenge. No other form of compensation was received and the opinions in this post are my own. Recipes were developed by Lisa Wilk of www.TasteCookSip.com.

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