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recipes:aromatic_acorn_squash_soup

Aromatic Acorn Squash Soup

Credit: Celti

This is a delicate, flavourful, and creamy soup, with a robust but gentle base of roasted acorn squash and carrots, carrying complex herbal aromatics and a peppery finish.

This is a large batch, making nearly a gallon of soup. Scale everything as necessary.

Ingredients

Vegetables
Acorn squash, washed, halved, and seeded, ×5 squashes (about 6 lbs.)
Carrots, peeled and chunked, 2 lbs.
Shallots, peeled, ×10 large cloves/segments (about 10 oz.)
Leeks, finely sliced or shredded, 1 c.
Liquids
Butter, 1/2 c. plus 2 Tbsp.
Chicken stock, 2 qt.
Heavy cream or half-and-half, 2 c.
Cream sherry, 1/4 c.
Herbs & Spices
Kosher salt, 2 Tbsp.
Coarse black pepper, 1 Tbsp.
White pepper, 2 tsp.
Fresh sage, 1 Tbsp.
Fresh summer savory, 1 Tbsp.
Saffron, 1/4 tsp.
Tools
Baking sheet lined with aluminium foil
Heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, 6+ qt.
Heatproof immersion blender

Substitutions

Pre-washed, ready-to-eat “baby” carrots are preparation-free but typically more expensive.
If you don't have fresh sage or savory, use a teaspoon and a half of dried.
You can use a heatproof stand blender, but prepare for lots of messy batches.
Some friendly Australians have informed me that Queensland Blue pumpkins work well in place of the acorn squash.

Preparation

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  • Place the squash halves cut-side-up on the baking sheet, surrounded by the carrots.
  • Place one clove of shallot in the hollow of each squash half.
  • Coat all of the vegetables with a quarter-cup of melted butter, and season liberally with the salt and black pepper.
  • Roast until the squash is beginning to caramelise and collapse (approx. 1 hour), then set aside to cool.
  • While the squash is cooling, melt 2 Tbsp. of butter in the pot over medium-high heat.
  • When the butter begins to foam, add the chopped leeks and stir.
  • Reduce heat to low and cover, cooking for 20–30 minutes until the leeks are caramelised, then deglaze with the sherry.
  • Increase heat to medium and add the shallots, carrots, the flesh of the squash, and the chicken stock.
  • Puree the soup with an immersion blender and simmer for 10–15 minutes until well-combined.
  • Stir in the white pepper, saffron, sage, and savory, and let simmer for at least another 15 minutes.
  • Reduce heat to low, blend in the cream, and bring back up to eating temperature; another 10 minutes.
  • Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve hot, garnished with fresh parsley and/or shredded carrot.
recipes/aromatic_acorn_squash_soup.txt · Last modified: 2019/10/26 21:33 by Celti