Recipes for the season: Maple Butter Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

In this series, local chefs give us their favorite recipes, full of fresh, seasonal ingredients, just in time for the weekend.

By Chefs Blake Faure & Jon Ramsey, The Golden Pheasant Inn,

As the seasons turn, so do we at the Golden Pheasant Inn turn to our local farms for the best ingredients, be it produce, meats or cheeses.

This is one of our favorite recipes, perfect for these cool fall days. You’ll find butternut squash at any of your local farmers’ markets. Enjoy!

Maple Butter Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Serves 10-12

INGREDIENTS

HOW TO

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Split each squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Separate seeds from stringy pulp and reserve them for garnish. Arrange the large squash meat side up and place maple syrup infused butter into each cavity. Roast for 45 minutes or until tender. To test the squash insert a knife into flesh. If it sinks in easily and the squash is golden brown, it’s ready to be removed from the oven.
3. Once the squash has cooled scoop the flesh from the skins with a spoon. Discard the skins.
4. In a large stock pot, warm the butter and oil over medium-high heat, and cook the vegetables for approximately 5-8 minutes.
5. Add the white wine and let the liquid reduce by half. Remove the pot from the stove and add the bourbon. Light a match over the pot to flambé the mixture, being very careful! Allow the alcohol to cook off.
6. Add the roasted squash and 6 cups of vegetable stock or water to the mixture and stir to combine. Bring the soup to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the salt and pepper and adjust the seasoning to taste.
7. Use a blender or immersion stick blender to puree the soup. If the mixture is too thick, add more stock or water to thin it out. Serve the soup warm and top with a drizzle of Maple Butter and a sprinkling of Butternut Squash Seeds.

Butternut Squash Seeds

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. Scatter the seeds evenly on a cookie sheet. Generously salt the seeds and roast for 8 to 20 minutes, until toasted.
3. Use as soup garnish or eat as a snack

ABOUT Chefs Blake Faure and Jon Ramsey and the Golden Pheasant Inn

Chefs Blake Faure and Jon Ramsay are passionate about bringing the very best local food sources to their guests. The emphasis is on fresh, natural, local ingredients, with a menu that changes seasonally. Blake has inherited her father’s passion and gift for the culinary arts while working at his side for many years in the kitchen. She earned her culinary degree from Le Cordon Bleu. Her partner and fellow Chef Jon Ramsay are co-executive chefs.

Blake and Jon have revamped the menus to reflect a combination of its traditional French past with next generational New American cuisine. “We make menu adjustments seasonally to reflect the local bounty of this area and our culinary philosophy of serving the freshest food that has been produced in the most sustainable manner possible,” says Chef Jon.