Acorn Squash Soup with Toasted Walnut Butter
From Williams-Sonoma Seasonal Cookbook
Elizabeth brought this to the potluck Harvest Party in October and it was a big hit! It looks long, but it’s easy really and well worth the effort.
Ingredients
4 acorn squashes about 1 lb each
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 slices bacon, finely chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
6 c. chicken stock
¼ c. heavy cream
large pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
¼ c. fresh orange juice
salt & pepper
flat leaf parsley
Toasted Walnut Butter Ingredients
3 Tbsp walnuts
2 tsp walnut oil
large pinch of sugar
salt & pepper
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil baking sheet.
- Cut each squash in half through stem end and place, cut side down,
on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until easily pierced with a knife,
about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside until cool enough
to handle.
- Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds and fibers and discard. Spoon
the flesh into a bowl ad set aside. Leave the oven set at 375.
- In a soup pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add bacon and onion
and sauté until the onion is soft, about 10 minutes. Raise the
heat to high, add the squash and stock and bring to a gentle boil.
Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the walnut butter. In a small bowl, toss together
the walnuts, walnut oil, sugar and salt and pepper to taste and spread
out on a baking sheet. Toast until golden, 5-7 minutes. Remove from
the oven, let cool and chop finely. In a small bowl, using a fork,
mash together the walnuts and butter. Season to taste with salt & pepper.
Spoon out the butter onto a piece of plastic wrap and, using the plastic
wrap, shape into a log about 1 inch in diameter.
- Remove the squash from the heat and let cool for 20 minutes. Using a blender and working in batches, puree the soup on high speed until smooth, 2 – 3 minutes for each batch. Pass through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean saucepan. Add the cream, nutmeg, orange juice and salt and pepper to taste. Reheat to serving temperature and ladle into warmed bowls. Cut the walnut butter into 6 equal slices and float a slice in each bowl. Garnish with parsley leaves and serve hot.