Roasted Squash Soup with Blue Cheese and Walnuts

recipe # 128

I made this for lunch yesterday.

It is from Artisanal Cooking by Terrance Brennan and Andrew Friedman

I think I got it from the freshdirect website.

Roasted Squash Soup with Blue Cheese and Walnuts
3 lb butternut squash (about 1 large squash)
1/4 cup canola oil
3 tsp plus a pinch kosher salt
White pepper in a mill
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp crushed walnuts (from about 12 walnut halves)
1/2 cup Spanish onion, medium dice
1/2 cup cored, peeled pear, any variety, medium dice
1/2 cup Riesling or other full-bodied white wine
5 1/2 cups vegetable stock, homemade, or low-sodium, store-bought vegetable broth, or water
2 tsp honey
1/2 cup Roquefort or other blue cheese (from about 2 ounces cheese), at room temperature

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut off the ends of the squash. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and strings, using a tablespoon or small scoop. Rub the cut sides lightly with 2 tablespoons of the oil, season with a total of 1 teaspoon salt and 4 grinds of pepper, and place cutýside down on a cookie sheet. Roast until tender to a knife-tip, approximately 1 hour. Remove from the oven and, when cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh.You should have 3 cups of roasted squash.
2. Meanwhile, put the nuts in an 8-inch sauté pan and toast over medium heat, shaking constantly, until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
3. Pour the remaining 2 tablespoons oil into a large, heavy-bottomed pot and heat over medium heat. Add the onion, pear, and a pinch of salt and cook without browning for 20 minutes. Pour in the Riesling and cook, scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot, until all of the wine has reduced by two-thirds, approximately 5 minutes. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the roasted butternut squash. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
4. When the soup is done, pour it into a blender in batches and blend until smooth. Season with the salt and add the honey. Strain the soup through a fine-mesh strainer; if it seems too thick, add a few tablespoons of water to thin it slightly. (It should just coat the back of a wooden spoon.)
5. Divide the soup among 4 warm soup bowls. Garnish each bowl with 1 tablespoon crumbled cheese and one-fourth of the crushed nuts. Serve.
Variation: In the early fall, replace the pears with apples.
Embellishments: Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat and let cook until the butter turns brown. Add it to the soup while blending one batch. Add sautéed wild mushrooms to the bowl and spoon the soup over them, or pile them in the center of the bowl and carefully ladle the soup around them.

Serves 4

It was fine. I didn't put it thru the blender (as they are all broken) and I didn't put it thru a strainer. I don't mind it chunky. I also added leeks and with the apples and onions. Oh, and I used a couple of carnival squash instead of butternut. They have a sweet flavor and more of a bread texture.

I don't think I'm going to make it again.

Here is a nice site that is pretty much everything that you might wan to know about squash. Useful this time of year.

tags technorati : sqaush, soup, winter food