I Did It! I Made The Soup From The Animal Kingdom Lodge!

    

     We spend quite a bit of time at Walt Disney World in Orlando. My daughter works there. We no longer get all that excited about riding the rides, as we’ve done them all many times over. We do love to eat at all of the interesting places both in the hotels and in the parks.

     One of my favorite places to eat is Boma in the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Boma serves an African themed buffet that is very unique and delicious. It can be difficult to get reservations, so plan ahead if you ever want to eat there. On our first visit, I had a Butternut Squash soup that I loved. It was unlike anything I’d had before. It was more sweet than savory and I could taste the nutmeg in it. On repeat visits, I go for the soup first and I have also found that they sell it in the food court at the Lodge. I have several Disney cookbooks, but the soup they listed as Butternut Squash from Boma was not the soup I had eaten. I could tell by reading the ingredient list. Recently, I tried again to find “the right” recipe and I was thrilled to see an undated version on allearsnet.com. I made it and it is so close to the original that I was thrilled. Remember this is a sweet, thick soup. It isn’t what you normally get when you order Butternut Squash Soup.

     Before starting this process, I washed a standard size butternut squash and pricked it with a knife a couple times. I put it in the microwave (whole) for about 4 minutes until it was soft enough that I could cut it in half, remove the seeds, peel it and cut it into chunks. I placed the chunks on a cookie sheet and followed the recipe. I also pureed the roasted squash with the water (in 2 batches) in the blender, before adding the puree to the pan to add the milk, cream, spices, cornstarch and cheese.

Ingredients:

3 ounces Unsalted Butter
11 ounces Butternut Squash, cut in chunks (I used a whole squash, no idea what it weighed)
To taste Salt and Pepper
8 ounces Water
8 ounces Heavy Cream (I used half and half)
8 ounces Milk (I used 1 percent)
1 ounce Sugar, adjust if needed
1 teaspoon Ginger
1 teaspoon Nutmeg
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Coriander
1 tablespoon Cornstarch
Water
3 ounces American Cheese (I used shredded American/Cheddar combination)

1. In a small pot, melt the butter and pour over the squash. Season squash with salt and pepper and roast in 325 oven for 45 minutes.

2. In a kettle, mix squash with water. Add heavy cream and milk and puree. Add sugar, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, and coriander.
3. Make a slurry with the cornstarch and add to the soup.
4. Add the American cheese and continue mixing until smooth.
5. Adjust seasoning.

     Please make sure you join our hostess, Michael @ Designs by Gollum, to see all of the other delicious recipes and foods.