With Christmas decorations lined up in stores and carols playing on the radio, it’s easy to forget that winter doesn’t officially arrive in the northern hemisphere until December 21st. If you’re not ready to transition into the new season yet, make time to make some classic fall recipes in between baking Christmas cookies. This comforting butternut squash soup is Cooking Education Research Institute The perfect way to celebrate autumn’s last gasps.
This recipe uses just a handful of simple, traditional ingredients. First, roast the butternut squash halves in a 400°F oven for 35 minutes. While cooking, fry chopped onions, carrots and celery in a soup pot with butter until soft and translucent. Scoop out the skin from the roasted pumpkin and add the pulp to the pot along with 4 cups of chicken stock. If you want to make the recipe vegetarian, use vegetable stock instead. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
You don’t need bold spices or rich ingredients to make this recipe delicious. Roasting butternut squash over high heat promotes the Maillard reaction, and the browning and caramelization that occurs in the oven creates the foundation for the soup’s intense flavor.
“Butternut squash itself already imparts a lot of flavor,” ICE chef and instructor Chayanin Pornsrinyom tells Mental Floss. “So this is actually a very effective and very simple recipe.”
To finish the soup, puree the vegetable mixture together using an immersion blender or Vitamix. Serve with crème fraîche and chopped chives on top.
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For 4 people
1 butternut squash (cut in half lengthwise and remove seeds)
Olive oil as desired
freshly ground black pepper
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) butter
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup diced celery
4 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup crème fraiche
2 tablespoons chopped chives
- Heat oven to 400°F.
- Line a baking sheet with foil and brush the foil with olive oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the cut sides of the pumpkin. Place the pumpkin, cut side down, in the skillet and roast in the oven until tender, about 35 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the butter in a soup pot. Add the onions, carrots, and celery, cover, and cook over medium-low heat until the vegetables are translucent.
- When the pumpkin is cool enough to handle, scoop it out and discard the skin. Add roasted pumpkin and stock to soup pot.
- Increase heat to high and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for another 5 minutes until all vegetables are tender.
- Turn off the heat and puree the soup using an immersion blender or Vitamix.
- Serve warm with plenty of crème fraîche and sprinkled with chives.