Roasted Squash Soup with Maple-Glazed Bananas

Cover recipe from Food & Wine, February 2009
Roasted Squash Soup with Maple-Glazed Bananas

Every year around this time, I get a craving for butternut squash soup.  I’ve tried plenty good recipes for this fall-themed soup over the years, but this one sounded rather unique to me.  Bananas added to the soup?  I’m all for being adventurous, so I gave it a shot.   Added crème fraîche and cinnamon are mixed into a roasted butternut squash and thinned out with water, resulting in a very thick and creamy, sweet-tasting soup.  The bananas are tossed in maple syrup and pecans and act as a garnish for the soup along with a pinch of greens.  The outcome:  It was just what I was hoping it would be… a unique twist on butternut squash soup.  The sweet flavor of the roasted squash worked well with the sweet banana, and the pecans added an unexpected crunch to the soup.  Food & Wine recommends a wine pairing of an off-dry Riesling, such as the vibrant, peachy 2007 Chateau Ste. Michelle Cold Creek (and I agree).

Roasted Squash Soup with Maple-Glazed Bananas
Source:  Food & Wine

Ingredients:
One 2-pound butternut squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
Kosher salt
1/2 cup pecans
1 banana, scooped into balls with a melon baller or sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1 cup water
1/2 cup crème fraîche
Pinch of ground cinnamon
8 small watercress sprigs

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375°. Butter a medium baking dish. Season the squash with salt and set it cut side down in the baking dish. Bake for about 1 hour and 10 minutes, until the squash is very tender. Let cool slightly.
2.  Meanwhile, spread the pecans in a pie plate and toast for about 7 minutes, or until fragrant. Let cool, then coarsely chop and transfer to a medium bowl. Add the banana and maple syrup and stir to coat.
3.  Peel the squash. In a blender, puree the squash, water, crème fraîche and cinna- mon until very smooth. Transfer to a medium saucepan and warm over low heat. Ladle the soup into bowls, garnish with the banana-nut topping and watercress and serve hot or at room temperature.

Serves 8

Notes from Culinary Covers:
*This soup is much too thick as written, add a bit of water or chicken stock to the recipe to thin it out.
*I used micro-greens in place of watercress sprigs.
*The recipe says it serves 8, but I’d say it comfortably gives 4 dinner guests a nice cup of soup.
*If you like a butternut squash soup that is on the sweeter side, this one is for you.  There’s a definite sweet quality to this soup but not overpoweringly so.

Did this recipe deserve the cover?  Yes, for its uniqueness and vibrant autumn color.

Tagged as: butternut squash soup, Dinner, fall, food and wine