This hearty squash soup is perfect for an autumn day.

If you want to create memorable sauces and soups without a lot of fuss, then perhaps it is time to invest in a hand-held immersion blender, such as the Breville Cordless Hand Blender. It allows cooks to create creamy soups, sauces, dressings, mayonnaise and milkshakes with ease. Try this hearty autumn soup recipe that calls for butternut squash, carrots and parsnips.

Harvest Squash Soup
Serves 4

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1½ tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth, divided
2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed (about 4 cups)
2 medium carrots, trimmed, peeled and sliced (about 1 cup)
2 medium parsnips, trimmed, peeled and sliced (about 1 cup)

1. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, ginger, thyme and nutmeg; season with salt and pepper. Sauté 6 minutes or until onion is golden. Stir in 1 cup of chicken broth, scraping up any brown bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add remaining 5 cups of chicken broth, followed by squash, carrots and parsnips.

2. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 25–30 minutes, or until vegetables are very tender. Using a hand-held blender, blend soup in pot until creamy and smooth; season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Ladle soup into bowls and serve hot.

Nutrition Score Per Serving (2 cups): 290 calories, 31% fat (10 g; 1.7 g saturated), 54% carbs (47 g), 15% protein (11 g), 8.1 g fiber, 159 mg calcium, 2.9 mg iron, 146 mg sodium

For more recipes and cool tools, check out  “Gadgets Good Cooks Love” in the November/December 2009 issue.

Photo credit: Ray Kachatorian

The key to this dish is selecting high-quality ingredients. Choose carrots that are fresh and bright orange (the deeper the color, the more eyesight boosting beta-carotene benefits). Select fresh or fresh frozen claw meat of the stone crab variety for rich taste and texture.

Chilled Carrot Soup with Stone Crab Meat
Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 5 ounces crab meat (about two medium claws)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, peeled and sliced
• 10 large carrots, peeled and chopped into cubes
• 1 quart chicken stock or water
• 5 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped, and divided in half
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 lime, halved and juiced
• 1 lemon, halved and juiced

For the crab meat: Place claws in boiling water and bring to a second boil (total cook time should be approximately 7 to 8 minutes). Drain and run cold water over claws to help separate the meat from the shell. To remove meat, crack all sections of shell with a hammer or nut cracker and carefully pick out the meat with a fork. Cover and store crab meat in the refrigerator until soup is ready.

For the carrot soup: Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent and tender. Add cubed carrots and sear lightly, about five minutes. Pour in chicken stock or water, and add thyme, half of the cilantro, salt and pepper. Cook until carrots are tender.

When the carrots are cooked, puree everything in a blender, then strain through a fine chinois (or conical sieve). Set aside puree to cool. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Whisk in the juice of half a lime.

Remove crab meat from the refigerator. Season with pepper, some lemon juice and a little olive oil. Spoon eight equal servings of crab into a mound in the center of eight soup bowls. Carefully pour carrot soup around crabmeat. Decorate with remaining cilantro.