Ingredients:
- 2 lbs or more of orange winter squash, cut into pieces
- 1 1/2 leeks, washed, then sliced
- Parmesan cheese (q.b. or “as much as you need”)
- salt, pepper, q. b
- Extra-virgin olive oil, q. b.
- bay leaves…or rosemary branch
- bouillon cu
- bouillon cube
- optional: Swiss cheese
Cut the squash. Wash and slice the leeks and then saute’ gentle in olive oil. Add squash and about 1 1/2 qts. water and simmer gently until all vegetables are soft. Add a boullion cube as vegetables simmer. I had thought to add a branch or two of rosemary to the simmering soup but I followed Pino’s advice and added a few laurel leaves instead. When vegetables tender, put the soup in a blender. Serve, sprinkling Parmesan cheese on the soup, adding black pepper as desired. Note: I was intrigued by the squash/rosemary combination so I also came up with another way to enjoy the soup: over crostini (bruschetta with a topping) of melted Swiss cheese and a generous sprinkling of rosemary. I toasted the bread slices on our wood stove top… and topped with slices of Swiss cheese, drizzled with our olive oil, and then slid the crostini into the wood stove oven to melt the cheese.
Now for the rosemary, a generous amount sprinkled on the toasted crostini…. and finalmente, the crostino was inzuppato (literally “souped” – ie, drenched or soaked) in that steaming squash/leek soup.
Before serving, I sprinkled generously with a bit more finally-diced fresh rosemary.
