Roasted Squash Soup from Lark Brewing

Here is a squash recipe from Chef Clint and Lark Brewing (one of Community Partners) using local squash from one of our members-Eric Jensen, owner of Yellow Table Farm and local honey from member Abby Rippe, owner of Blue Ridge Orchard! 

This time of year our culinary team finds itself creating new dishes around hearty fall squash.

When  approached by Yellow Table Farms about the availability of Georgia honey roaster squash, we decided to incorporate the flavors of fall into a silky soup by pairing a sweet roasted squash with the fragrant notes of ras el hanout. The sweet and savory spice blend is exceptionally useful when trying to bring savory notes to sweeter ingredients. The following recipe is vegan and utilizes an abundance of local produce. We garnished with fried kale as a texture, which was dusted in nutritional yeast to further enhance the marriage of sweet and savory. We very much hope you enjoy it.

Roasted squash soup (8 servings)

Spice blend (ras El hanout)

2 tsp ground Turmeric

 1/2 tsp Green Cardamom

 1 tsp Paprika

 1 tsp Cumin

1/2 tsp ground Coriander seed

 2 tsp kosher or coarse sea Salt

 zest of 2 oranges

2 whole cloves

1 Tsp ground ginger

1 Tsp fenugreek seed

2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger 

3 to 4 cups Almond milk

 2  lbs of roasted Georgia honey roaster squash

(Acorn squash will also work well. We utilize yellow table farms and crooked pines produce for our squash )

1 tsp vegetable oil

 

Method

1. Peel squash and remove seeds . split lengthwise
2. Place on parchment lined baking sheet cavity side up in 300 degree oven and roast until fork tender. ( usually about an hour)
3. Set aside and allow to cool
4. In a large sauce pan heat vegetable oil over medium heat.
5. Start by toasting clove and fenugreek until fragrant.  Remove, set aside and toast remaining  ground spice.

At this point I generally remove from the heat and let the residual  heat of a heavy bottom pan toast my spices .

5. Grind clove and fenugreek in a spice mill and add to other spices
6. Add roasted squash, fresh ginger and almond milk and bring to a simmer over low heat being sure not to scorch the bottom
7. Blend smooth and Season with salt to taste

I typically  don’t sweeten this particular  soup but a drizzle of local honey over the finished dish can really help to set it apart. The folks at Blueridge orchard have some amazing honey that I love to use.