Spicy Roasted Squash Soup with Pumpkin Seed Pesto
- 15 slices firm white sandwich bread
- 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 12 lb butternut squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh jalapeno chile, including seeds
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 7 cups chicken broth or water
- 5 cups water plus additional for thinning
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste
- Accompaniment: pumpkin seed pesto
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Trim and discard crusts from bread.
- Spread 1 side of each slice evenly with butter and season with salt and pepper.
- Halve slices diagonally to form triangles and arrange, buttered sides up, on a baking sheet.
- Toast bread, turning once, in middle of oven until golden brown, about 4 minutes.
- Transfer toasts to a rack to cool.
- Put squash, cut sides down, in 2 greased shallow baking pans and roast in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of pans halfway through roasting, until very tender, about 1 1/4 hours.
- Cool and scoop out flesh.
- Puree squash in batches in a blender with jalapeno, cumin, and broth until very smooth (add additional water as needed to facilitate pureeing).Transfer to a 6- to 8-quart heavy pot and stir in 5 cups water.
- Simmer, stirring, 10 minutes, then stir in lemon juice, enough water to thin to desired consistency, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve soup in bowls topped with slices of toast spread with pesto.
bread, unsalted butter, butternut squash, jalapeno chile, ground cumin, chicken broth, water, lemon juice, accompaniment
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/spicy-roasted-squash-soup-with-pumpkin-seed-pesto-104548 (may not work)