Squash Soup Puree with Spicy Sweet Potato Chips

Squash is one of my favorite food products. I love it for incomparable taste and versatile usage in cooking. Squash goes well on its own or as a nice additive to a main dish: soups, souffles, pies, pastry or just baked squash with butter and brown sugar. Interestingly, when I was little, I did not like the texture of the plant as much as I do now. I remember my mother who was baking a fresh squash, brought from a farmers' market, with a slice of creamy butter and mountain honey. Wonderful nutty smell enveloped the whole kitchen and rooms. Despite my childish dislike of squash, I was always intrigued by the aroma it carried:-)
Fortunately, with time, my love to squash increased as my overall interest to food:-) More often I use the plant as a pie filling. I have some great recipes which I am going to share in my blog. My favorite type is Buttercup squash for its' intense texture - it almost reminds me of a potato. I like to experiment with food. This time, I decided to play with flavors by combining sweet and spicy - sweet soup puree and spicy potato chips. The final product was delicious! So, here is the recipe:


Ingredients
for the soup
1 medium size buttercup squash (peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes)
1 small onion (diced in small pieces)
2 tablespoons of ghee (olive oil works perfectly as well)
3 cups of water
1 cup of condensed milk (or cream)
1/2 of a small bunch of fresh parsley (thoroughly washed and dried)
Salt and black pepper (depending on your preference)

for the chips 
1 long sweet potato
Sea salt and cayenne pepper
Olive oil

Instructions
for the soup

1. Heat ghee or oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute onions until fragrant. Add squash and cook for 6-8 minutes stirring occasionally.

2. Stir in 3 cups of water, bring to boil and reduce the heat to minimum. Cook for another 15 - 20 minutes or until squash gets tender.

3.  Meanwhile, cut parsley and warm up condensed milk. When the squash gets tender, add in a cup of condensed milk, salt, pepper and parsley.

4. Puree the soup in a blender in small batches until smooth.

for the chips

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Wash and dry a potato. Peel and slice in very thin circles. (You can use a potato peeler to make pieces equally thin)

3. Cover a baking sheet with foil or baking paper. Place potato slices on the sheet, each separately from another. Sprinkle salt and cayenne pepper and olive oil. Place the sheet in the oven for 20 minutes.

* You can store ships in a dry plastic container layered with paper.

* The type of a squash and spices can be changed depending on your taste.

* If you like the soup to be more liquidy, you can add some more cream or water and reheat the soup in a saucepan without boiling it.

Bon Appetit!