Butternut Squash Soup with Pomegranate Topping
The temperature outside finally went down. Now, it really feels like almost-Christmas. Before the squash and the pomegranate completely disappear from the markets, I made a very hearty soup perfect for a Netflix night. I still had leftover molasses from the last pomegranate recipe and that made this soup a little tart and gave it a nice spunk.
Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise
1 quart chicken stock
1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1 pomegranate (optional)
1 cup heavy cream
a handful of pine nuts, toasted then some of it grounded
1 tbsp honey
a pinch of nutmeg powder
half a cinnamon stick, grounded
a pinch of whole cloves, grounded
salt, pepper, olive oil1. Preheat oven to 400º. Drizzle the inside of the squash with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. On a baking sheet, bake cut side down for up to 2 hours. When done, let cool and then scoop out all the squash meat in a bowl.
2. In a pot, simmer the chicken stock with the squash, grounded pine nuts, honey, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves for about 40 minutes. Using a blender, puré in batches and transfer back to another pot with a strainer. Simmer and keep adding chicken stock while stirring ocassionally to thin the soup.
3. In the meantime, make the topping. In a small glass bowl, whisk heavy cream and molasses until fluffy. Ladle the soup in serving bowls and top with a dollop of this cream. Top with remaining pine nuts and some pomegranate seeds.
Related post/s:
Don’t waste all that pomegranate molasses
Where to buy pomegranate molasses