Roasted Turban Squash Soup with Chipotles
This soup has toasty, smoky tones and a hefty kick.
Ingredients
1 turban squash (about 4 lbs.)
2 heads garlic, cloves separated but not peeled
6 medium shallots, peeled
3 medium carrots, cut in half crosswise and then in half again lengthwise
2-3 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper
4-5 small sprigs rosemary
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth (or more as desired)
2 cups buttermilk
2 medium or 3 to 4 small chipotle peppers (see suggestions), softened in hot water 30 minutes and minced
Garnish: croutons or chopped cooked bacon
Directions
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cut squash in half; scoop out seeds. Place halves skin side down in a large, heavy baking pan with the garlic, shallots and carrots. Toss vegetables with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Roast until squash flesh is partially tender, 45-60 minutes. Embed the rosemary sprigs into squash and continue roasting until squash flesh is very tender, another 15 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool vegetables to warm temperature.
Remove rosemary and pull herbs off stems (discard stems). Scoop out squash and squeeze garlic meat from the skins. Puree rosemary, squash, garlic and remaining vegetables from the pan (be sure to get all the bits on the bottom, too), adding some of the chicken or vegetable broth to get a nice, smooth texture.
Transfer to a large soup pot and stir in remaining broth, buttermilk and minced chipotles. Bring to simmer; season to taste with salt and pepper. If there’s time, turn off heat and let the soup stand for 1 or more hours to develop flavor, then reheat soup before mealtime. Serve hot with croutons or chopped cooked bacon to top each bowl.
Suggestions
You can purchase locally produced chipotles from chile experts Joan and Ted Ballweg of Savory Accents; they sell their fiery wares at the Dane County Farmers’ Market and via their website, savoryaccents.com.
If you are unable or prefer not to use whole chipotles, Terese says that you could start with 1 teaspoon chipotle powder and add more to taste, going up to 2 teaspoons or even more if you like it really feisty.
Omit crouton garnish for a gluten-free dish.
Substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth for a vegetarian dish.
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