October 26th, 2010
I have tried many different squash soup recipes and tonight I finally made my best one.
Have you ever seen a banana squash?
I saw one for the first time at the Salt Lake Farmer’s Market this fall and I had to try it. It’s very similar to butternut squash but much larger and heavier! I really appreciate the shopping carts at the grocery store after hauling around heavy bags of produce at the farmer’s market all summer and fall.
Here is my recipe:
1 banana squash or 2 butternut squashes (approximately 4-6 cups) or 4 acorn squashes (for my squash, I used a combination of banana squash and butternut – If you make a big batch, you can use it for squash bread, squash cookies, to eat by itself or to freeze for later).
1-2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch of leeks (about a cup), top halves removed, sliced thin. I like to keep some of the green part in and just discard the tops. Leeks tend to have a lot of dirt inside the leaves so be sure to rinse well.
2 garlic cloves
2 small onions or 1 large onion
1 bunch of carrots (approximately one cup) diced
1 and 1/2 liters organic chicken broth
1/2 liter water
1/2 teaspoon herbs de provence
1/2 tablespoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper (salt and pepper to taste)
Optional:
Pancetta and sour cream for garnish
Set the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the banana or butternut squash in half and scrape out seeds and membrane. Place squashes face up on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (for banana squash) or inside a glass baking tray (for butternut or acorn). Inside each squash place a small pad of butter and sprinkle with brown sugar. Place in the oven to roast for 30-60 minutes or until squash is tender when stuck with a fork (This step can be done a day ahead and stored overnight).
In the meantime, start chopping leeks, garlic, onions and carrots.
Heirloom rainbow carrots from the farmer’s market
Coat the bottom of a large stockpot with olive oil and turn the stove on to medium head. Put the leeks, garlic, onions and carrots into the pot and cook at medium heat, stirring occasionally, until carrots are soft and garlic and onions are translucent.
Add the chicken broth and water. Remove cooked squash from the oven and let cool until you are able to touch (I usually wear my Ove glove during this part).
Roasted squash = so yummy
Scrape the squash meat out of the skins (I like to use a grapefruit or pumpkin carving spoon). Discard skins. Add squash meat to the soup. Add herbs de provence, ginger, nutmeg, chili powder, salt and pepper. Allow everything to cook together at medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat. Plug in an immersion blender and blend the soup to desired consistency (I like to keep my squash soup a little bit chunky but you can puree and strain if you choose). If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can puree it in a traditional blender or a food processor. Pour soup back into pot on low heat and cover.
In the meantime, cut up a few slices of pancetta and put it in a separate frying pan on medium heat. When it is crispy, place it on a paper towel on top of a plate to cool and to let grease drain.
To serve, ladle soup into bowls and top with a sprinkling of pancetta and a dollop of sour cream. Enjoy 🙂
Disclaimer: This is the first recipe I’ve ever written so I apologize for any mistakes. I did the best I could to approximate amounts of spices and vegetables. I cook by feel and add a dash of salt here and a pinch of ginger there so please give me any feedback on portions and feel free to use your own judgment when cooking. This recipe is flexible and is hard to mess up (just don’t burn the garlic in the beginning). So have fun, improvise and I look forward to hearing your feedback! Thank you.
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