Butternut Squash Soup with Pumpkin Seed Oil

This recipe was taken from the harvest menu section of the Araxi cookbook

Chef James Walt writes:

“This soup is very simple to make. Use unblemished squash that are heavy for their size, and if butternut squash are not available, try pumpkin. I grow winter squash in my garden and use it year-round: we fry the blossoms in the summer, then make soups with the flesh in the winter. Pumpkin seed oil is available at fine grocery stores; use hazelnut oil instead if you need to.”

½ cup unsalted butter

2 shallots, sliced

5 lbs butternut squash (about 2 small), peeled, seeded and thinly sliced

7 cups chicken or vegetable stock

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

¼ cup whipping cream

3 Tbsp pumpkin seed oil

2 Tbsp toasted pumpkin seeds

1 Tbsp chopped chives

In a large saucepan fitted with a lid, heat the butter on medium heat. Add the shallots and sauté until lightly coloured, about 5 minutes. Add the squash and lightly season with salt and white pepper. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the squash is very soft.

Heat the chicken (or vegetable) stock in a medium pot on medium heat. Once the squash is very soft, pour enough stock over the squash to cover it by about 1 inch/2.5 cm. Simmer the squash mixture for 5 minutes, then add the Parmesan cheese and the nutmeg and cook for two minutes more. Remove the soup from the heat, transfer to a blender and purée until smooth or use a handheld blender. Strain the soup through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl and discard any solids. Stir in the cream and season with more salt, if necessary.

TO SERVE

Pour the soup into 16 small espresso cups or ladle it into 6 bowls. Drizzle each serving with pumpkin seed oil, and top with pumpkin seeds and chives.

WINE

Some of BC’s fine Pinot Blanc or a Mâconnais Chardonnay would complement this soup.

Araxi is published by Douglas & McIntyre.