zuppa di zucca e carote / winter squash and carrot soup

I told you I still have some winter squashes in my storage room, so here is another great soup I made with them and with carrots, of which I bought a bunch, greens and all, from the Temescal farmers' market in Oakland, a relatively small market that has interesting vendors and, most importantly, runs year-round.

I actually made this soup twice. The first time (photo above), I used a butternut squash, but did not weigh any of the ingredients, which is not a problem until you want to share the recipe. I liked the soup a lot, so it was easy to decide to make it again and do so with the scales ready. For the second rendition, I picked a different squash and should have photographed it before roasting it, because it was really a sight. Fortunately, I found a good image on this page, where its name is also given: Black Futsu. Don't let its rough surface intimidate you: Black Futsu squash has a flavorful flesh under those ribs.

The flesh is golden color and has the rich taste of hazelnuts... The black fruit will turn a rich chestnut color in storage. It is a particularly long keeper (up to 8 months). This heirloom variety originally from Japan has a high yield, a unique appearance and an uncommon flavor.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Winter squash and carrot soup

Ingredients:

• a winter squash of your choice, yielding 2.5 lbs cooked squash
• 3/4 lb carrots
• 4-5 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• olive oil
  
• 6 oz. onion (cipolla), chopped
  
• 1 celery rib (leaves included, if present), chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin (possibly from freshly toasted and ground seeds)
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves (chiodi di garofano)
  
• 3 cups homemade light chicken stock or vegetable stock
• 2.5-3 cups water, plus as needed to bring the soup to the desired consistency
• salt (sale) and freshly ground black pepper (pepe nero), to taste

Heat the oven to 375 F. Pierce the squash with a blade in a few places, place it on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat, and bake it for 15 minutes. This makes it easier to cut it in half. Let the squash cool slightly, cut it in half lengthwise and remove the seeds (a grapefruit spoon is my preferred tool for this task). Put the garlic cloves into the cavity of one of the two squash halves and place both halves on the silicone baking mat, cut side down. (I learned to bake garlic with squash this way from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.) Put back in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the carrots. I don't peel them, but simply scrub them well, scrape off the thin skin with a knife, then rinse them. Cut carrots into 1/4"-thick slices and spray a bit of olive oil on them. Take the baking sheet with the squash out of the oven and distribute the carrots on it, if there is space. Otherwise, use another baking sheet, but try to bake all the vegetables at the same time, for energy efficiency's sake. Take the carrots out of the oven after 30 minutes. At that time, check the squash and, if necessary, bake it longer, until you can easily pierce it with a knife. Let the squash cool and then scrape the flesh off the skin, again using a grapefruit spoon. Peel the garlic cloves and set them aside.

Warm up some olive oil in a soup pot and add onion and celery. After 3-4 minutes, cover the pot and let the vegetables cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Add cumin, smoked paprika and cloves to onion and celery, stir, then add squash, carrots, stock, and water to cover the vegetables. Cover the pot, bring to a boil and cook for 25 minutes. Add the garlic cloves, then purée with an immersion blender. Add more water, if needed, to make the soup reach the desired consistency. Adjust salt and pepper to your taste.

I have found that this soup profits from some rest, so I suggest you make it a few hours ahead, then reheat it. Serve with homemade bread and/or cheese crisps. The ones in the photo were made with my homemade Tilsit, which worked nicely.

To make the cheese crisps, heat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat. Take a tablespoon of grated cheese, like parmigiano-reggiano, and place it on the silicone baking mat. With a fingertip, spread cheese into a disk of about 3" diameter. Repeat a few times, making sure to leave at least one inch between the disks. Bake until the cheese melts, 3 to 4 minutes (check after 3 minutes and bake half or a minute longer, if necessary). Lift crisps delicately with a spatula and let cool. Serve with hot soup. I suggest establishing a per capita share in advance. In my experience, these crisps have a tendency to disappear faster than the speed of light.

As long as we are having one storm after another dumping rain on us, a hot soup is what I want for dinner.

This is my submission for the first edition of Creative Concoctions, an event created by Ivy of Kopiaste..to Greek Hospitality that will have two editions per month. This post contains the roundup of the event.

This is also my submission for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays, a weekly event created by Deb of Kahakai Kitchen. This post contains the roundup of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

zuppa di zucca e carote

or launch the zuppa di zucca e carote audio file [mp3].

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Comments

[Ivy]

Simona this soup looks delicious and is perfect especially with your crusty bread and cheese. Thanks for linking this wonderful recipe to Creative Concoctions.

[Catalina]

The soup looks tasty! The cheese crisps are a great idea! So simple and 100% from cheese - thank you for inspiration :)

[Paz]

Interesting-looking squash. Hmm... I agree that a good soup is perfect on a rainy day. Yours sounds delicious, especially with the cheese crisps. Yum!!!

Paz

[Merisi, Vienna]

Delicious looking!

I feel almost envious and can't wait for the first butternut squash to hit the market.
(Well, first things first, spring and summer vegetables are what I am looking forward right now!)

The word zucca to this day evokes memories of watching the movie "Giant" (in Italian), and hearing Elizabeth Taylor exclaim "La mia bella zucca!" (referring to her pretty head). I thought it was so funny. Still is. ;-)

[Katie]

That wonderful! Sadly (or not) my last butternut had to go to the compost pile.... but, next year!

[astrofiammante]

pensavo che unire queste due arancionissime potesse risultare troppo dolce, ma l'idea di aggiungere la paprika, le altre spezie e una buona dose di parmigiano equilibrerà la cosa, buonissima domenica, ciauzzzzzzzzzzz!

[Simona Carini]

My pleasure, Ivy. I am glad you like the recipe.

Ciao Catalina. I love cheese crisps: they take a few minutes to make and they are fun (though addictive ;).

Ciao Paz. I got attracted by its unusual appearance and was rewarded by its great flavor.

Ciao Merisi. I must admit that I have not seen that movie. I wonder what she says in the original (pumpkin?). I sometimes exclaim "Che zucca!" when I do something not exactly smart. I confess that I still have a couple of butternut squashes in storage. I can claim I am running an experiment on their longevity, but in reality, I am afraid of baking them because I know that then I will have to wait at least 5 months until the next crop.

Oh no, Katie. Now I am worried about mine. I will bake them soon: composting them would break my heart.

Ciao Astro. La zucca che ho usato non e' molto dolce e poi certo le spezie aiutano ad equilibrare il sapore. Ciao!

[DebinHawaii]

Your carrot-squash soup looks delicious and those cheese crisps are the perfect accompaniment to it. Thanks for joining in this week at Souper Sundays. I always love having you! ;-)

[Simona Carini]

Thanks Deb. It is always a pleasure to participate.