Recipe: Pumpkin Soup (with ginger using sugar pumpkin, calabaza or butternut squash)

PUMPKIN SOUP
Source: Veneto: Authentic Recipes from Venice and the Italian Northeast by Julia della Croce

This soup is a simple affair of pureed pumpkin cooked with milk.

2 1/2 to 3 pounds sugar pumpkin, calabaza or butternut squash
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
8 large shallots or 2 medium onions, grated or minced
8 thin slices fresh ginger root, each about 2 inches in length, peeled
8 cups milk, or as needed
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
Freshly ground white pepper
Fresh mint leaves, torn into small pieces

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and oil the foil. Cut squash in half lengthwise and scrape out and discard the seeds. Place squash halves, cut sides down, on prepared baking sheet.

Bake in preheated 400-degree oven until tender throughout, about 40 minutes. Test for doneness with a sharp knife or thin skewer. It should meet no resistance. Remove from oven and, when cool enough to handle, peel off skin and cut squash into small dice.

In a soup pot, melt butter with olive oil over medium-low heat. Add shallots or onions and saute very gently until thoroughly softened but not at all browned, 10 to 12 minutes.

Add diced squash and ginger root and saute to marry the flavors, about 5 minutes.

Now stir in 3 cups milk and cook over low heat until mixture begins to simmer. Remove pot from heat and allow mixture to cool somewhat. Then pass mixture through a food mill, or process in a blender or food processor to puree.

Return puree to the pot, stir in remaining 5 cups milk and simmer for about 12 more minutes to thicken. Add more milk if consistency is too thick (it should be thick enough to coat the spoon) and heat through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle into warmed bowls, strew mint over surface and serve at once.

Servings: 6

Per serving: 345 calories; 21 g fat (12 g saturated fat; 55 percent calories from fat); 28 g carbohydrates; 66 mg cholesterol; 551 mg sodium; 13 g protein; 1.5 g fiber.