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.
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{ 58 comments… read them below or add one }
Looks delicious! I am not a fan of banana, but I bet in a soup it would take on a whole different flavor!
I’m with Jenn…I’m normally not crazy about bananas, but this looks positively mouthwatering.
Love the concept for this site! Wish you the best of luck, hon.
+Jessie
I love the idea of this blog! I’ve never thought of bananas in soup, but I think this could be really good!
Happy cooking,
Mandy
Congratulations on your new site. May we continue to have cooking magazines for many years to come.
Awesome looking soup! Love the picture. great idea for a site. Good luck with it!
Lori, a second site? Congrats and happy cooking! I love butternut sqaush soup.
Beautiful new site and a very interesting blog concept! Best wishes for much success here. Also, the soup doesn’t look bad either
Congrats on your new site. I look forward to following it. The soup looks marvelous. Great fall meal!
Love the new look- it’s great. Congratulations!
Clever concept for this blog—It’s the cover photo that entices us in, right? —Will be interesting to see what you find…will the dish prove cover worthy?
Congrats!
Congratulations on your new site! Interesting soup, and with the crunchy pecans in it sounds delicious.
Wowza! I have butternut squash AND bananas on hand + rainy in Louisiana + leaves beginning to change colors = perfect day for this recipe! Great concept, Lori!
A great blog idea Lori! I will look forward to more from you here!
Lori! The site looks great – as does that soup!! This is such a great concept – can’t wait to see whats next!
Congrats on the new blog. The dish looks delish.
Beautiful cover and absolutely gorgeous execution on your part. I like your notes at the end; I think that’s why I end up going off-recipe so much, because sometimes the recipes provided don’t always work out 100% of the time, so people have to improvise. The tips are very helpful and help set expectations.
I love this concept! All the best with the new blog Lori
Love it. Can’t wait to see more recipes that have graced the covers of magazines and cookbooks – totally fascinated by the idea!
What a gorgeous soup! And I love this idea for your new blog–very creative. Good luck and much success!
Beautiful Photo!! Good luck with your new blog, It looks great.. you must be VERY organized!!
Hi Lori
Though I must confess I’m not a fan of bananas in hot food so would prefer to try the soup on its own on this occasion, I think the idea of the blog is brilliant. We so often buy food mags based on what the cover looks like and seeing whether the recipe is really achievable or a bit of glam and gloss is a great idea – nice one!
Wishing you lots of luck and hope you find some appetising covers!
I love the idea of this blog! What a fun exploration!
This is a great idea and congrats on the first gorgeous post. Eat Your Boosk will definitely link to your pages when you do cookbook covers.
Congratulations on the new blog! Love the concept. Your photography is stunning.
what a great concept for a blog! I love this…and the soup looks great.
love the new blog, Lori! What a fun idea!!
Well, Lori, this will be interesting to follow you in your cover cooking! Great post – beautiful photograph.
What a fun concept. This soup looks tasty. Anyway you slice it, I love butternut squash.
Thanks for the wine recommendation. I was looking for a good wine to pair with butternut soup!
I’ll look for this one.
Your new site?? LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!!!
What a great new venture Lori! I love the concept and look forward to following along!
Love the covers idea and this savory sweet twist on an all time fave, butternut squash soup.
Congrats of the new site! I don’t know how you do it. I can barely keep up with my one!
The soup looks beautiful! A definite “must try”!
Love butternut squash soup, and that riesling that you have by the side of it!
much success and thanks for the yummy recipes!
I forgot about this one! Saw it a while ago and wanted to try it. Perfect!
Great first recipe and beautiful photography.
Love this idea, and what a great new blog!
Great idea for a new blog! Congratulations and here’s hoping you have fun with it! Can’t wait to see what else you’ll do.
Congrats for your new blog Lori!! You’ll make the day of 48 hours for both blogs
The soup with these bananas sound very interesting flavor to explore!
Cheers!
Gera
Looks divine!
Congratulations!! Best from Montecito, CA
We’ve had butternut squash and pear soup, but not bananas – this one sounds gorgeous! ~ Belle
What a fun idea! I can’t wait to see all you come up with, although I’m a little afraid about the cookbooks and that I may want ones that you review! Congratulations!
That photo is absolutely stunning
Looks great Lori, looking forward to seeing more!
What a great concept for a blog. Can’t wait to read more!
Lovely concept, will enjoy reading more!
Congratulations Lori, great photography and concept. Have you thought about featuring all 71 years of Gourmet covers? Daunting, I’m sure. Best wishes.
Charles- Holy Smokes, that would be a fun project. Surely someone is doing that, right? I’ll include a few, but I don’t wish to stick with Gourmet only… there are too many cookbooks and other cooking magazines to drool over!
Oh My Goodness What a fabulous idea!!! I LOVE IT!!! I’m adding this link to my blogroll right now!!! Feel free to experiment with any of the cookbook covers I’ve posted about. So very cool, Lori. Wishing you all the best and Have FUN!!!
Hey Lori, congrats on your new blog! The photo is stunning! I’ll put you in my reader!
xox
Marie
What a great idea for a new blog, Lori! Love it and can’t wait to see more.