The Pollan Family Table's Butternut Squash Soup

In a true family effort, acclaimed former New York Magazine editor and food writer Corky Pollan, Emmy Award nominated actress Tracy Pollan, and health and fitness entrepreneurs and experts Lori Pollan and Dana Pollan, worked together to write The Pollan Family Table. This is a stunning collection of recipes, cooking techniques, and pantry wisdom for delicious, healthy, and harmonious family meals. Including a foreword from son and brother Michael Pollan, The Pollan Family Table from sister company Simon & Schuster is available now wherever books are sold.

Sitting down together for dinner every night has been the cornerstone of the Pollan family for generations, influencing these authors – and their son and brother, food writer Michael – to make cooking and sharing simple, wholesome meals the foundation for their individual lives and careers. In their new cookbook, The Pollan Family Table, Corky, Lori, Dana, and Tracy Pollan invite readers into their warm, inspiring kitchens to share their top cooking tips and techniques, time-tested shortcuts, advise for those just starting out, and market and pantry lists that make shopping for and preparing dinner stress-free. This instant kitchen classic will help readers create incredible meals and cultivate traditions that improve health, well-being, and family happiness. Here they share their much beloved recipe for Butternut Squash Soup with Toasted Pumpkin Seeds, perfect for crisp autumn evenings!

Butternut Squash Soup With Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Makes about 2 quarts (4-6 servings)

Ingredients

From the market:

7 cups peeled, seeded and diced butternut squash, cut into 1 inch cubes
½ cup chopped carrot
1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

From the pantry:

2 tablespoons raw shelled pumpkin seeds or pepitas
organic cooking oil spray
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
4 cups low –sodium vegetable broth
2 pinches ground nutmeg
kosher salt
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar glaze

Instructions

Spread the pumpkin seeds across a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer and spray lightly with cooking oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Bake until lightly toasted, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
In a large stockpot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and carrot and sauté until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and stir for 30 seconds. Add the butternut squash and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes.
Pour in the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, 15 to 20 minutes.
Remove the stock pot from the heat and allow the soup to cool until no longer steaming. Working in batches, ladle the soup into a blender (place a towel on the top when blending to avoid hot splashes) or food processor and blend on high until smooth. Pour the pureed soup into a clean pot. (As an alternative, you can use a handheld immersion blender and puree the soup right in the pot.)
Return the soup to the heat and add the nutmeg, 2 teaspoons of kosher salt, and black pepper to taste. Stir to blend well, and simmer until hot. Ladle the soup into individual bowls and top each serving with 1 teaspoon of the toasted pumpkin seeds. Add a swirl of balsamic vinegar glaze–about 1/8 teaspoon for each bowl–and serve.

In a true family effort, acclaimed former New York Magazine editor and food writer Corky Pollan, Emmy Award nominated actress Tracy Pollan, and health and fitness entrepreneurs and experts Lori Pollan and Dana Pollan, worked together to write The Pollan Family Table. This is a stunning collection of recipes, cooking techniques, and pantry wisdom for delicious, healthy, and harmonious family meals. Including a foreword from son and brother Michael Pollan, The Pollan Family Table from sister company Simon & Schuster is available now wherever books are sold.