Cooking with Conor: Roasted Butternut Squash Bisque with Pumpkin and Pomegranate Relish

The chill of fall can often be tempered with a warm bowl of soup. Chef Conor’s healthy adaptation of seasonal butternut squash soup calls for a garnish of coconut milk in lieu of sour cream, and the flavorful relish topping provides the goodness of pomegranate combined with the deliciousness of pumpkin. Soup’s on!

Roasted Butternut Squash Bisque
4 cups butternut squash, peeled and diced large
1 onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
4 cups vegetable stock
2 tsp. fresh ginger
1 cinnamon stick
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
A pinch of nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
Coconut milk for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 375°.
2. Place squash, onion, celery, and carrot on a sheet pan and roast for 25 minutes.
3. Remove vegetables from oven and place into a soup pot.
4. Add spices and broth to the pot.
5. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes.
6. If you have an immersion blender, you can puree the soup direcly in the pot.  (If not immersion blender, use a regular blender to puree.)
7. Only fill the blender halfway. For heat protection, use a twol to tightly hold down the lid while blending. Soup can also be left to cool.
8. Once blended, plate and garnish with coconut milk.

Pumpkin and Pomegranate Relish
1 cup pomegranate seeds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1 shallot, diced small
1 lime, both juice and zest
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

1. Place pomegranate and pumpkin seeds in a bowl.
2. Add the shallot, lime juice and zest, basil, and mint.
3. Place on top of soup.

   

    

   Chef Conor is Executive Chef for Robert Palmer Companies, where he leads a culinary team in creating healthy and delicious meals for a staff of 50.