WINTER SQUASH AND CARAMELIZED ONION SOUP WITH EIGHT FINISHES

Squash soup is so enormously versatile that I found it impossible to choose just one of mine for this book. I’ve decided to provide you with a very basic recipe that uses roasted squash so that you can use any of the interesting winter squashes that might be available but that aren’t as easy to use as butternut. Sadly, there are some excellent squashes that just don’t get used because people find dealing with their tough, warty skins either intimidating or too time-consuming. But you can always bake a squash whole if you can’t manage to slice it in half first. Once it softens, cut it in half and turn it so that the cut side is facing down on the sheet pan and bake until it’s soft and the cut surface has browned. The slowly caramelizing onions will add depth of flavor to the soup. You can also make a simple quick stock with the seeds and fibers from the squash cavity, as well as the skin and a few other ingredients if you wish, but this will add an extra 25 minutes or so to your time. Still, it’s worth it. One two-pound squash, which is a fairly small specimen, yields about three cups of cooked flesh. One cup of cooked squash requires about two cups of liquid in a soup. You might wish to use a larger squash and make more soup. And if you end up with extra cooked squash, it’s quite good browned in a small skillet in olive oil or butter, seasoned well with salt and pepper and sage leaves, and possibly covered with thick slices of Gruyère cheese, goat’s milk Gouda, or blue cheese.

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Step 1

Heat the oven to 375°F. Slice the squash in half lengthwise and brush with olive oil. Set it cut side down on a parchment-covered sheet pan and bake until soft and yielding when pressed with a finger, about an hour depending on variety and size.

Step 2

While the squash is roasting, warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a wide pan. When it’s hot, add the onions and give them a stir. Cook over high heat for a few minutes, then reduce the heat to medium and cover the pan. Stir every so often. As the onions wilt, they will eventually color. After about 20 minutes, add the wine and give a stir. Cover again and continue cooking. Eventually the wine will cook away, but continue cooking until the onions are a rich caramel color; then turn off the heat.

Step 3

When the squash is done, scoop out the seeds and fibers that cling to them and remove the flesh from the skins. If you want to make a quick stock, simmer these elements—the seeds, fibers, and skin—with 6½ cups of water, some parsley stems and a few slices of onion for about 25 minutes.

Step 4

Add the squash flesh to the caramelized onions, then add the stock or water and 1 rounded teaspoon salt. Simmer together for 20 minutes, covered, then purée in a blender until smooth as many squashes are fibrous. Taste for salt and season with pepper. Return the soup to the pot and finish using any of the following ideas.

Step 5

1.Drizzle a few drops of true balsamic vinegar into each bowl and add pepper and a small sprinkle of finely minced parsley.

Step 6

2.Drizzle a good teaspoon or more of your best olive oil in each bowl and grate Parmigiano-Reggiano over it, along with freshly ground pepper.

Step 7

3.Stir a few tablespoons of cream into the soup, leaving it streaky, and serve with plenty of freshly ground pepper. You might also add some cooked rice to the soup.

Step 8

4.A sprinkling of berbere would be a good source of heat and complexity, whether as a powder or mixed with olive oil and drizzled over the top. Or, for another source of heat and spice, stir a slice or spoonful of the smoky-spicy butter on this page into each bowl.

Step 9

5.Garnish the soup with red pepper flakes, ground red chile, and plenty of fresh mint.

Step 10

6.Serve with crumbles of blue cheese in the soup, black pepper, and a tad of butter. Or make blue cheese–covered crostini and serve one or two alongside or actually floating in each bowl of soup.

Step 11

7.Fried sage leaves, finely minced rosemary needles, and vibrant parsley are all good herbs to use with winter squash, alone or with crumbled blue cheese.

Step 12

8.Sear radicchio (see this page), then chop it and use it to garnish a soup along with a few drops of balsamic vinegar.