butternut squash soup with fennel pollen

Name: Butternut Squash Soup with Fennel Pollen
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 50 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 3 large butternut squash, peeled and chunked. i buy pre-cut to save time from trader joes (3 20-oz packages in their fresh veggie section); 5 large cloves of galic, trimmed, coursely chopped; 1 large vidalia onion, coarsely chopped into large chunks. since these will be in the blender eventually, no need to dice small.; 4 sprig(s) fresh italian flat parsley; 2 tablespoon(s) olive oil to saute onions; 5 cup(s) chicken stock (keep in mind, you don't want too much liquid because you want a thick soup once blended at the end); 2 - dried bay leaves; 1 - bunch of celery leaves from the top of your celery; 1 stalk(s) celery, coarsely chopped; 1 - carrot, peeled, and cut into 4 or 5 chunks; 3 dash(es) dried dill, or 2 leafy fresh sprigs; 1 teaspoon(s) sea salt; 1 teaspoon(s) ground pepper; 1 sprig(s) fresh rosemary or 1/4 tsp dried; 2 dash(es) ground red pepper; 1 dash(es) ground nutmeg; 1/2 teaspoon(s) fennel pollen (www.pollenranch.com); 2 tablespoon(s) butter; 3-4 tablespoon(s) real maple syrup; 1/4 cup(s) half and half or whole cream; sprig(s) of either fresh parsely, dill or chives to garnish on top; 1 large dollup of sour cream in each bowl at serving time

6 Pinches 1 Photo

Sanity Chek

Annapolis, MD

Updated on Nov 27, 2017

This is a little more complex than your average butternut squash soup. It calls for a lot fresh herbs, black and red pepper, and fennel pollen. It's a soup full of goodness and healing properties that, like a magnet, draws people back for seconds. Fennel pollen is a fine dust...that adds that secret ingredient to your dish. I get from The Pollen Ranch in California: "The Pollen Ranch is now the largest producer of certified organic, wild, pure fennel pollen and the worlds first supplier of dill pollen." pollenranch.com OR you can find by other vendors on Amazon.

Rate

prep time 30 Min

cook time 50 Min

method Stove Top

yield 8-10 serving(s)

Ingredients

3 large butternut squash, peeled and chunked. i buy pre-cut to save time from trader joes (3 20-oz packages in their fresh veggie section)
5 large cloves of galic, trimmed, coursely chopped
1 large vidalia onion, coarsely chopped into large chunks. since these will be in the blender eventually, no need to dice small.
4 sprigs fresh italian flat parsley
2 tablespoons olive oil to saute onions
5 cups chicken stock (keep in mind, you don't want too much liquid because you want a thick soup once blended at the end)
2 - dried bay leaves
1 - bunch of celery leaves from the top of your celery
1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
1 - carrot, peeled, and cut into 4 or 5 chunks
3 dashes dried dill, or 2 leafy fresh sprigs
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 sprig fresh rosemary or 1/4 tsp dried
2 dashes ground red pepper
1 dash ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon fennel pollen (www.pollenranch.com)
2 tablespoons butter
3-4 tablespoons real maple syrup
1/4 cup half and half or whole cream
sprig of either fresh parsely, dill or chives to garnish on top
1 large dollup of sour cream in each bowl at serving time

How To Make butternut squash soup with fennel pollen

Step 1

In a couple tbsps of olive oil quickly saute the onions, garlic and garlic. As they just start to turn brown at the edges, pour in the chicken stock. Toss in the chopped squash, salt, black pepper, fresh parsley, the celery leaves and stalk, the carrot, the rosemary, the dill and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil and then cover and simmer on med/low until fork goes easily through squash. I use a pressure cooker and cook everything for 20 min on high pressure.

Step 2

First, remove the bay leaves and set aside. Remove/throw away any stems from the sprigs of herbs, leaving just the leaves behind. Now, place all the cooked veggies and broth in batches into your blender or food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. OR use an immersion hand blender right in the pot. Blend until smooth.
Step 3

Once you have the soup back in the pot, add the fennel pollen, nutmeg, butter, maple syrup. cream, red pepper. ** The butter just makes it taste a little more special. Add back the bay leaves you removed earlier. If you think your soup consistency needs a little more liquidd because its too thick, you can add some now. (It's much easier to add water or broth at this point than trying to make your soup thick. ) Stir a bit to mix up everything up and simmer on low for 1/2 hour to give the spices you just added to kick in. Then, check to see if you want any more salt or pepper or if you'd like a stronger fennel pollen taste. If so, add a pinch more. A little goes a LONG way with fennel pollen. (** Note, if you are using a pressure cooker you add these ingredients last when the pressure cooking is completed and after you've blended everything. Let your soup stay on WARM mode for 30 min before serving, checking to make sure the level of salt pepper and fennel pollen is to your liking. )
Step 4

Serve with a dollup of sour cream, and garnish with some fresh italian parsley, dill or chopped fresh chives. Finally, add some cracked fresh pepper. My family likes oyster crackers too. This is soup after all - fancy or not! This soup is great the next day too. Enjoy.
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