Roasted Hubbard Squash Soup with Hazelnuts and Chives

If you can't find Espelette pepper, use just a pinch of cayenne instead. The soup keeps for 3 days in the refrigerator or 2 months in the freezer.

• Preparation Time: 25 mins
• Cooking Time: 1 hr 45 mins
• Total Time: 2 hr 10 mins
• Calories: 282 Calories

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 ½ teaspoons dried sage
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 large cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 pinch kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 1 ½ teaspoons fennel seeds
• 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh chives
• 1 (6 pound) hubbard squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 1 large leek, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
• ½ cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped
• 3 pinches Espelette pepper powder

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Step 2

Combine olive oil, garlic, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, and sage in a mortar; pound with a pestle until consistency is like a coarse paste. Rub spice mixture on the cut-sides of the squash halves. Place squash onto the prepared baking sheet with cut-sides down.

Step 3

Roast in the preheated oven until tender and easily pierced with a fork, about 1 hour. Remove from oven, turn cut-sides up, and cool until easily handled. Scrape insides of squash into a bowl; you should have about 5 cups.

Step 4

Melt butter in a 5-quart Dutch oven over medium heat. Add leek, carrots, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until leek is softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add reserved squash, chicken broth, 1 teaspoon salt, and bay leaf. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until soup's flavor has developed, about 30 minutes.

Step 5

Remove and discard bay leaf. Fill blender halfway with soup. Cover and hold lid down with a potholder; pulse a few times before leaving on to blend. Pour into a pot. Repeat with remaining soup. Add lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with hazelnuts, chives, and Espelette pepper.