| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 45 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 25 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 45 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 25 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup (1/4-inch) diced onion
- 1/4 cup (1/4-inch) diced celery
- 1/4 cup (1/4-inch) diced carrot
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Sea salt, preferably gray salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- About 4 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon ground toasted coriander, optional
- 1 1/2 cups Roasted Winter Squash, recipe follows
- 1/2 cup half-and-half, optional
- 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese, optional
- 2 tablespoons toasted pumpkin seeds, optional
- About 3 pounds butternut squash (preferably 1 large squash)
- Gray salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage leaves
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup dark unsulfured molasses
- 2 teaspoons Toasted Spice Rub, recipe follows
- 1/4 cup fennel seeds
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 tablespoon peppercorns
- 1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup (1 ounce) pure California chili powder
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
Instructions
- For the soup:
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until hot. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and cinnamon stick and saute until soft but not brown, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the chicken stock and the coriander, if using, and bring to a boil. Simmer for several minutes. Stir in the squash until smooth, then simmer gently to let the flavors meld, about 10 minutes. Discard the cinnamon stick.
- Puree the soup in a blender until smooth. (The soup can be made ahead to this point, cooled, covered, and refrigerated for several days or frozen for about 1 month. It will thicken as it cools and may need thinning with stock or water when reheating.)
- Return the soup to the pan and reheat gently. Add the half-and-half, if using. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Keep warm until service.
- To serve:
- Ladle the soup into serving bowls. Garnish evenly, with the cheese and pumpkin seeds, if desired.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Peel the squash with a vegetable peeler. Halve lengthwise, discard the seeds, then cut into 1-inch dice. Place in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper.
- Heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter ceases to foam and has turned a light brown, pull the pan off the heat and immediately add the sage, sugar, vinegar (stand back so as not to get splattered), molasses and toasted spice rub. Mix well and let simmer over medium-low heat for 1 to 2 minutes to meld the flavors.
- Pour the vinegar mixture over the squash and toss well, then transfer to a heavy rimmed baking sheet or baking dish large enough to hold the squash in a single layer. Place in the oven and roast, tossing at least once, until very tender and caramelized, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Set aside until cool enough to handle but still warm, so the liquids are runny.
- Working in batches, if necessary, transfer the warm squash and all the cooking liquids to a food processor and process until smooth. Use immediately, refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.
- Serving suggestions: Serve the puree on its own as a side dish for roast chicken, turkey, or pork; stir into polenta just before the end of cooking; use as a stuffing for ravioli; make into a soup; or use to flavor pastina. Or omit the sage, season with ground cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg to taste, and use as a substitute for canned pumpkin in your favorite pumpkin pie recipe.
- Toast the fennel seeds, coriander seeds, and peppercorns in a small, heavy pan over medium heat. When the fennel turns light brown, work quickly. Turn on the exhaust fan, add the red pepper flakes, and toss, toss, toss, always under the fan. Immediately turn the spice mixture out onto a plate to cool.
- Put mixture into a blender with the chili powder, salt, and cinnamon and blend until the spices are evenly ground. If you have a small spice mill or a coffee grinder dedicated to grinding spices, grind only the fennel, coriander, pepper, and chili flakes. Pour into a bowl and toss with the remaining ingredients. Keep the spice mix in a glass jar in a cool, dry place, or freeze.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 810 |
| Total Fat | 46 g |
| Saturated Fat | 22 g |
| Carbohydrates | 96 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 19 g |
| Sugar | 40 g |
| Protein | 16 g |
| Cholesterol | 95 mg |
| Sodium | 1792 mg |
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 810 |
| Total Fat | 46 g |
| Saturated Fat | 22 g |
| Carbohydrates | 96 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 19 g |
| Sugar | 40 g |
| Protein | 16 g |
| Cholesterol | 95 mg |
| Sodium | 1792 mg |
Reviews
This recipe has my family asking for more! Delicious! I’ve been making it for over 10 years.
Agree that directions should have the squash prep first. Granted you make a big batch of spices, but once you make the soup you’ll be glad you have it ready for the next time. The scent of it cooking is incredible and the flavor is awesome. Perfect for the gardener who has an abundance of butternut. Also love the ideas at the end for other uses than soup. I only gave it four stars for all the work it takes but the flavor is truly a five.
The instructions on this soup were awful. SO very confusing.. Going back/forth between soup and just squash.. I must have read them 100 times.
This is a wonderful recipe for roasted butternut squash served as a vegetable side dish. I’m so happy to have found it here. I had made the squash years ago and lost the recipe. I’ll try the soup adaptation but I can tell you the squash recipe alone is a keeper. Thanks for sharing Michael !
I have made this several years in a row for Thanksgiving and it is always a huge hit. Spicy, savory and delicious. I garnish with creme fraiche
My husband and I love squash soup, and we have tasted many over the years. This recipe continues to be our favorite. Although it’s a bit more time consuming to make, its worth it. The toasted spices can be made for the first batch and stored for future recipes. Michael Chiarello also has a yummy pork chop recipe that uses the same spice rub.
Spices seem to fight against the squash rather than compliment it. The toasting of the spices and the glazing of the squash sounded like a great idea, like it would be tastey and perhaps the process might soften the large measurements of spices. It did not. Now I have to try to save this pot of soup that no one likes very much. 2 stars were given for the toasting, glazing and roasting. 3 stars taken away for the poor herb and spice combinations.
A little more work than other recipes but worth it for the complexity of flavor. I use a dollop of coconut cream to finish it.
My squash wasn’t very large, so I also added a quart of my canned pumpkin. It turned out to be the right choice, added a bit of sweetness without added sugar. I omitted the chicken broth and used some vegetable broth.
I made the soup without the brown sugar. I found the squash tasted too dark, almost a burned taste and it was very sweet. I roasted another squash and 2 yukon gold potatoes just tossed in oil. The combination was very good. I garnished the soup with tiny fresh sage leaves and served it with sausages. Everyone loved the soup.