Spicy Roasted Squash Soup With Pumpkin Seed Pesto Food

SPICY ROASTED SQUASH SOUP WITH PUMPKIN SEED PESTO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Make toasts:
• Trim and discard crusts from bread. Spread 1 side of each slice evenly with butter and season with salt and pepper. Halve slices diagonally to form triangles and arrange, buttered sides up, on a baking sheet. Toast bread, turning once, in middle of oven until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Transfer toasts to a rack to cool.
• Make soup:
• Put squash, cut sides down, in 2 greased shallow baking pans and roast in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of pans halfway through roasting, until very tender, about 1 1/4 hours. Cool and scoop out flesh.
• Purée squash in batches in a blender with jalapeño, cumin, and broth until very smooth (add additional water as needed to facilitate puréeing).Transfer to a 6- to 8-quart heavy pot and stir in 5 cups water. Simmer, stirring, 10 minutes, then stir in lemon juice, enough water to thin to desired consistency, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve soup in bowls topped with slices of toast spread with pesto.

ROASTED SQUASH SOUP

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Place the squash, cut side down, on baking sheets and roast for 45 minutes, or until flesh is soft. Scoop out the flesh into a large bowl.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Saute the onion, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in the garlic, ginger and curry powder and cook 1 minute. Add the apples and sherry and simmer for 10 minutes, or until apples soften.
• Puree batches of the squash flesh and broth in a food processor or blender. Transfer the squash puree to a large saucepan. Puree the apple/sherry mixture and stir into pureed squash.
• Heat over medium heat and season with salt, pepper and cayenne, to taste.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP WITH CORIANDER AND PUMPKIN SEED PESTO

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/350°F/gas 4.
• Remove skin, fibres and seeds of the squash/pumpkin and cut into cubes (mine were approximately 5-6cm). (You may also want to leave the skin on and remove after roasting if this is easier with the particular squash/pumpkin you are using.) Rub the squash pieces with sunflower oil and season well with salt and pepper. Put them into a small roasting tin (skin-side down if skin wasn't removed). Roast for about 40 minutes or until tender.
• Remove squash from oven and remove skin when cool enough to handle if you haven't done so earlier. You may also want to cut squash into smaller chunks if your pieces are rather big. I didn't cut mine any smaller, as I preferred to cut my squash into smallish chunks before roasting.
• Melt the butter in a large pan, add the onion and cook gently for about 10minutes until the onion is very soft but not browned. Add the roasted squash, and any juices from the plate and the stock. Note: I used 1.2 litres of water, but only stock cubes for 1 litre, as you have salted your squash before roasting it, and you will also add parmesan. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until squash is ready to be liquidised.
• Meanwhile, make the PESTO:.
• Heat a dry, heavy-based frying pan over a high heat. Add the pumpkin seeds and shake them around until lightly toasted. Cool, reserving 1 tablespoon of seeds to garnish.
• Put the rest of the seeds into a food processor with the chilli, garlic, fresh coriander and oil. Blend to a paste. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the parmesan, seasoning to taste.
• Finish SOUP:.
• Leave the soup to cool slightly, then liquidise in batches until smooth. Note: I always use a high pan and a hand-held liquidiser, so I don't need to remove and return the soup. Return to a clean pan and bring back to a gentle simmer. Stir in 4 tablespoons of the pesto (I stirred in all of it, although it was more than 4 tablespoons, but stir in four and check how you like it)and adjust the seasoning.
• SERVE:.
• Ladle into warmed bowls and add a spoonful of sour cream, and sprinkle with the reserved pumkin seeds and coriander leaves.
• If you haven't used the whole amount of pesto before, serve it at the table, so everybody can stir in more if desired. Another possibility is to top crackers or toasted bread with it and serve together with the soup.

QUICK WINTER SQUASH SOUP WITH SPICY TOASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS

Steps:

• Make soup:
• In large saucepan over moderately high heat, melt butter. Add shallots and sauté until translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in squash and stock and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until soup thickens, about 30 minutes.
• While soup simmers, make pumpkin seeds:
• In small skillet over moderately high heat, heat oil. Add pumpkin seeds and cook, stirring constantly, until seeds begin to pop, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in cumin and cayenne pepper and continue to cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer to bowl and season with generous pinch of kosher or coarse sea salt.
• Finish and serve:
• When soup has thickened, remove from heat and stir in lime zest and juice. Season with kosher or fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Ladle into bowls, garnish with pumpkin seeds, and serve.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP WITH BROWN BUTTER SAGE PUMPKIN SEEDS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325. Lined a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large soup pot, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions, ½ teaspoon salt and some black pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are soft about 5-6 minute Add garlic and cook until onions begin to caramelize, another 5-6 minute Add 6 cups of water and the BOU cubes to the pot. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the butternut squash and bring the water to a boil then lower heat to medium-low. Stir, then cover and cook until the squash is very soft, about 25 minute.
• Melt the butter in a small pan over medium-low heat. Let it bubble until it is golden brown about 12 minutes. In a bowl, toss the brown butter, pumpkin seeds and sage plus a pinch of salt and pepper. Spread the seeds in an even layer on the baking sheet. Bake for about 20 min until golden brown, stirring a few times. Carefully transfer contents of the pot to a blender and puree until smooth. Adjust seasoning. Garnish with pumpkin seeds and extra fresh sage.