On golden pond of butternut squash soup

I’m a big fan of soup. And I get especially excited for those thick, creamy blended soups that you see at fancy restaurants. The kind where a lot of cream and a hand blender have been involved. That’s precisely the kind my husband recently made.

His butternut squash soup was just the sort of thing that I’d order in a restaurant… but better. Why? I’d venture to say it was tastier, fresher and let’s face it: free of charge. The soup was thick and rich, with that beautiful golden hue from roasted butternut squash. Of course, that couldn’t be the end of its appeal; pureed vegetables make baby food, not restaurant fare. So he added a dollop of creme fresh, a splash of truffle oil and a sprinkling of fresh chopped chives. As Ace Ventura might say: B-E-A-utiful.

Yes, it’s getting pretty gourmet in here, folks. I just hope my husband doesn’t institute a dress code. I’m fond of dining in my pajamas.

Backgrounder…
My wife need not worry about her Hugh Hefner-style attire being banned from our table (pajamas, not bunny ears people… and for those of you thinking birthday suit, keep your mind out of the gutter, we are doing a family thing here). No matter how high flying my cooking might attempt to get, she can show up however she wants and get fed. Last night, she just happened to benefit from my desire to try a new ingredient and also be a bit showy.

As for the recipe, it was an experiment of the best kind. For some time now, I’ve been staring at the various squashes and gourds at the supermarket. I have been extremely hesitant to go near them because I had no idea what to do with them. Yet there they have been, looming large and looking more like a decorative centerpiece than actual ingredient. But yesterday, I ditched my hesitation and grasped hold of the butternut squash.

This recipe had two inspirations. First, it’s pumpkin pie time. That means that I am seeing recipes for the pumpkin pie everywhere. And most of the these recipes use canned pumpkin. The explanation is that to get real pumpkin puree you have to go through steps like peeling, cutting and roasting. This clued me into the fact that with something as big as the butternut squash I bought, I’d first have to roast it to get it soft enough to make soup.

Second, last year my wife and I were visiting her grandparents in Northern California. We had lunch at the CIA’s Greystone campus, and the amuse bouche that day was a shot of some sort of gourd soup with a pumpkin seed oil on top. This gave me two ideas: One, I could easily make a thick soup with my new squash, and, two, I could use a fragrant oil to give real depth of aroma and flavor.

The result was a success. Even with its time consuming roasting of the squash, the recipe produces something relatively simple to prepare. However, I feel like I gilded the lily with the white truffle oil and crème fraîche. You can replace the crème fraîche with sour cream and the truffle oil with something less exotic but still deeply aromatic. I went for a gold gourmet star. I hope you enjoy it. If you want to show up in your PJ’s for dinner too, then I suspect we can make arrangements to make a space for you.

Butternut Squash Soup
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
1 large butternut squash (4+ pounds raw)
3 cup vegetable broth
1 large onion (chopped)
3 cloves garlic (minced)
2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 Tbsp. fresh grated ginger
1 tsp. nutmeg
olive oil
salt
black pepper

Garnish:
crème fraîche
six green onions
white truffle oil

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.

2. Slice the squash in half length wise. Using a spoon, core the seeds. Place in a roasting pan. Liberally coat with olive oil, salt, and black pepper. Roast in oven for an hour or until the flesh is easily pierced with a paring knife.

3. Remove from the oven, and let cool so it is not too hot to handle. Remove the skin and roughly chop any large portions of the flesh remaining.

(NOTE: Seeing as I was a novice when it comes to cooking with raw squash and gourds, I chose this method. In retrospect, I would likely have peeled the squash and cubed it prior to roasting it. I suspect I would have saved myself a good deal of time and effort by the simple physics of it. By increasing the surface area being exposed, I suspect I could have cut off significant time as well as not having to wait until it cooled before proceeding. I’ll try this method in the future, but I would encourage you to try it yourself. I’d follow the same process, but start checking at about 30 min. for doneness.)

4. In a large pot over medium heat, add 2 Tbsp. of butter. Once the butter has stopped bubbling, add 2 Tbsp. of olive oil.

5. Add the onion, ginger and garlic. Cook until the onions are translucent and starting to lightly yellow, about 6 min. Add the nutmeg and stir. Cook for another 3 min.

6. Add the roasted butternut squash and stir. Let cook for about 5 min before stirring again. You should start to see carmelization coming on the bottom of the pan. Add the honey and let cook again for another 5 min.

7. Add about 1/2 cup the broth and deglaze the pot. Once all those nice brown bits are up from the bottom of the pot add the remaining broth. Bring to a boil and let cook for about 5 min at a low boil.

8. Turn off the heat and let cool for another 5 min.

9. Using a stick blender (or you can use a blender in small batches), puree the mixture until you have a nice smooth texture. Return to heat and lets simmer until you are ready to serve.

(NOTE: When I use my stick blender on something hot, I typically move the pot into my sink. I find this limits mess and risk of getting very hot liquid on myself or anyone else. Of course, you have to feel safe carrying a pot with a gallon of molten squash.)

10. Garnish by adding a dollop of crème fraîche, a sprinkling of green onions, and a drizzle of white truffle oil. Serve very hot. Enjoy!