Serve roasted butternut squash soup with Parmesan-garlic bread

This week, we are preparing a very simple butternut squash soup that is served with Parmesan garlic bread. Instead of pureeing the soup, I designed this recipe to highlight the flavor of the roasted squash by keeping the pieces intact in the creamy broth.

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP WITH PARMESAN GARLIC BREAD

Ingredients

For the soup:

4 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into large cubes

3 tablespoons melted butter

1 cup chopped onion

1⁄2 cup chopped celery

1⁄2 cup chopped carrot

2 cups vegetable stock

2 cups heavy cream

Salt and pepper, to taste

For the bread:

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1⁄2 tablespoon sugar

1⁄2 tablespoon instant yeast

1 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)

3 tablespoons melted butter

1 tablespoon roasted garlic

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Putting it together

Toss the squash with the butter, arrange the pieces on a large baking sheet or pan and roast at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

In a large pot, add the onion, celery and carrot with a splash of oil and cook for about two minutes over high heat. Add the vegetable stock and the roasted squash and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the cream and again bring the soup to a boil. Adjust the seasoning by adding salt and pepper and turn the heat off.

To make the bread, add the flour, salt, sugar, yeast and half of the water to a large bowl and mix using a dough hook for about one minute. Continue to mix, adding small amounts of water as needed until the dough comes together.

Set dough aside for about 20 minutes in a warm area and allow it to rise. Once the dough reaches twice its original size, cut it in two and form each half into a baguette. Bake the loaves on a large baking sheet for about 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

Cool the bread to room temperature then cut each loaf in half lengthwise. Top each half with some of the butter, garlic and Parmesan cheese. Turn the oven to 500 degrees and bake the open loaves for about eight minutes, or until golden brown.

An alternate way to make the bread is to mix all of the ingredients together, including the butter, garlic and Parmesan, set the dough aside to rise, then cut in half and bake 30 minutes at 375, cool, slice and serve. This method incorporates the garlic-Parmesan flavor into the bread itself rather than on top. Use whichever method you prefer.

Serve a nice helping of the soup in a bowl with a big slice of bread and enjoy.

Antonio Villagomez is head chef and owner of Cilantro's restaurant and catering in Yuba City, Calif. Contact him at 530-844-2111. His website is cilantros.us.