Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Smoked Chiles and Pomegranate-Pecan Relish

Squash soup with southwestern add ins

Category
Soup
Cuisine
Spanish
Serves
4
Time
45 minutes
From
Bobby Flay

Ilove this soup, but I'll admit I love pretty much anything with pumpkin and all of its usual spices. The smokiness of the chipotle chiles works so nicely with the autumnal spice blend and the sweetness of the squash. Pumpkin puree, whether it's fresh pumpkin or from a can, needs some sort of rich cream, such as crème fraîche or reduced heavy cream, to make it silky smooth.

Note: I changed this from pumpkin to butternut squash because I don't like pumpkin

Adapted from Bobby Flay: Chapter One

Ingredients

Pomegranate-Pecan Relish

  • ½ cup pomegranate seeds
  • ¼ cup chopped toasted pecans
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon clover honey
  • 2 tablespoons neutral oil, such as avocado or canola
  • 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pomegranate Crema

  • 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
  • 1 cup crème fraîche
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Soup

  • 7 cups vegetable stock (see page 305)
  • 3½ cups roasted butternut squash
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon ground canella (Mexican cinnamon)
  • ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1-2 teaspoons pureed canned chipotle in adobo
  • ¼ cup crème fraiche
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Roast the squash: peel and dice the butternut squash. Toss with canola/avocado oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast at about 375F for about 45 minutes, until starting to brown. Let cool a little then puree it in a blender or food processor. You should probably pass it through a sieve too
  2. Make the relish: In a small bowl, combine the pomegranate seeds, pecans, vinegar, honey, oil, and parsley. Stir to combine, then season with salt and pepper. Let the relish sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes. (Alternatively, you can omit the parsley and make the relish up to 2 days in advance. Store it, covered, in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before using and add the parsley just before serving.)
  3. Make the pomegranate crema: In a small bowl, combine the pomegranate molasses and crème fraîche.

Stir them together so the pomegranate molasses is swirled and streaked through the crème fraiche, season with salt and pepper, then set aside.

  1. Make the soup: In a medium saucepan, bring the stock to a simmer over medium heat. Whisk the pumpkin/squash puree into the stock until smooth. Add the nutmeg, cloves, canella, allspice, ginger, maple syrup, honey, and chipotle and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until the flavors meld. If the soup is too thick, add water a bit at a time to thin it out. Remove from the heat and whisk in the crème fraîche and season with salt and pepper.
  2. Divide the soup among four bowls, garnish each with the pomegranate crema and 2 tablespoons of the pomegranate-pecan relish, and serve.

Notes

  • if you like pumpkin, then you can just use canned pumpkin puree
  • 1 teaspoon of chipotle is probably enough. Start with that and add more if desired (you can't take it if it's too spicy)