Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Roasted Chestnut & Butternut Squash Velouté


I think I have culinary Stockholm Syndrome. One of the things I had to prepare for my final last semester was a mushroom velouté, and now I can't seem to stop myself from making different versions of the same thing ... over and over and over.

Eh, I don't really mind.  I am not ready to jump on the January New Year's resolution salad bandwagon just yet. Sure, I'd love to lose a pound (or three) but ... I simply cannot bring myself to care all that much. At least, not enough to give up rib-sticking foods in the middle of winter. So, for now,  I'll just suck it up and do some extra time on the treadmill so that I can continue to slurp on hearty, mostly-healthy things (and wash it down with wine of course). May I humbly suggest that you do the same?

Velouté is actually one of the five French mother sauces, along with bechamel, espagnole, tomato, and hollandaise. (If you're cramming for your culinary final, the acronym is BETH-V.) Here, a thin chicken velouté is used as broth, to which cream (or, if you prefer, yogurt, milk, or half and half) is later added. You could also use vegetable stock to keep it vegetarian. Once you make soup this way, you'll want to experiment with different variations all winter long.

 Roast Chestnut & Butternut Squash Velouté


1 1/2 pounds chestnuts (pre-roasting weight)
1 Tbsp butter
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 small butternut squash, peeled, pulp & seeds removed, & cubed
sea salt and white pepper
1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream 

For the veloute:
2 ounces AP flour
2 ounces clarified butter or ghee
4 cups chicken stock

For the garnish:
4 slices fried bacon, crumbled
Chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

To roast the chestnuts, cut an "x" into the top of each one and roast, in a single layer, at 425 F for 15 minutes, until soft:
Let cool before peeling, and roughly chop. Meanwhile, in a large stockpot, saute the onions over medium low heat until translucent. Add the squash and cooled, peeled, and chopped chestnuts, season with salt and white pepper, cover and allow to sweat until tender, stirring occasionally.

To make the velouté, first make a blonde roux: In a skillet, heat the clarified butter over medium high heat. Add the flour and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the resulting paste takes on a blonde color and smells nutty. Remove from heat and allow to cool. In a saucepan, heat the chicken stock until it boils, and reduce heat. Carefully add the roux and whisk to dissolve. Bring back to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. The velouté should coat the back of a spoon, but not be too thick - if it is, add more stock. Season with salt and white pepper, and add enough to the (by now softened) vegetables to cover by about an inch. (Purists will tell you to strain the velouté through a chinois, but my Stockholm Syndrome isn't that bad!) Simmer this for 10 minutes. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until very smooth. Season again - don't be afraid of the salt! (See, Chef, I learned my lesson.) If the soup is too thick at this point, add a bit more stock. Gently heat the cream and slowly add to the soup until it reaches the desired consistency. Once again, season to taste. 

To serve, garnish with the bacon and parsley  - the smokiness of the bacon works really well with the hearty chestnuts. I'm telling you, you're going to want to make all kinds of veloute soups once you try this one - I am a big fan of mushroom, broccoli, and pumpkin (not all at once, mind you ...  ick) but there's really no limit - and the cream is worth an extra few minutes on the treadmill, don't you agree?





33 comments:

  1. I love veloutè and soups in this cold period.... so...I'm waiting for others recipes... ;D hugs, Flavia

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  2. Ooh la la... my chestnuts sat in the fridge too long... they got dry ( that happens) time for a new batch to make soup... I've been planning chestnut soup for a while after I read about a Paris one on 2 Stews... will incorporate your brilliant ideas. Happy New Year, Trix!

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  3. i oscillate, but veloute is often my favorite of the mother sauces. great tutorial!

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  4. I love Veloute, I remember when I was in Culinary school, and I was passing a large amount of Veloute through cheese cloth with one of the Chefs, and almost to the end I realized my band-aid from my finger was missing! We both just looked at each other. Luckily, I quickly found it and it was not in the soup!

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  5. Sounds divine and your pictures is fabulous! love this new scene!

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  6. What a punch of flavor - chestnuts and bacon. Boom. Love it.

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  7. You know I love this combination, I've made some similar thing too in the past... the roasting of the chestnus must add it a wonderful twist... yum.
    BTW, lovely cup and plate!

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  8. I'm a bit intimidated by the recipe, or maybe the name, 'veloute' :) but wow, that looks amazing!

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  9. I've never heard of Velouté, but this sounds pretty straightforward ... oh, and YUMMY :D. I 'discovered' butternut squash last year and have been experimenting with it ever since!

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  10. Chestnuts and squash, a perfect winter soup for sure. I don't do resolution either really.

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  11. Such a lovely cup of thick soup.....just perfect for the cold winter! Love the picture, too. By the way, so sorry for mix-up of Poppa Trix. I'm still amused at my total ignorance!

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  12. What a wonderful veloute! I love chestnuts, and will remember this recipe for fall!

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  13. Veloute is one of my favorite sauces to prepare...
    Your soup is glorious with these wonderful
    flavors :)

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  14. I love Veloute and do not make enough of it. Need to keep this in mind for next winter and also remember to top it up with bacon and more bacon ;)

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  15. Bellissime immagini
    felice anno nuovo ♥ ciao

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  16. I don't think I've ever had a veloute before! Thanks for opening my eyes and making me see the light!

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  17. I think I made a mushroom veloute once, starting with a blonde roux and everything, but I didn't know that that was what I was doing - I just named the dish creamy mushroom soup! Haaa! That's why you went to culinary and I didn't Trix... my brain can't possibly remember things like BETH-V and all those other acronyms. ;-)

    By the way, I never thanked you for your very kind New Year comments. I guess I've mellowed a lot as I got older, and although I probably don't look more beautiful with all the wrinkles, I certainly feel more beautiful inside. On good days, if I'm lucky, that shows! xoxo, Maya

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  18. absolutely beautiful - creamy sauce based soups are so appealing to me, think crab/shrimp bisque, this one I know I will like... and the roasted chestnuts with squash sounds just mouthwatering

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  19. I also love making velouté of all kinds :) The combination of butternut squash and roasted chestnut sounds excellent for sure!

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  20. I love veloutés ; it reminds me of this lovely French lady whom I rented a room from back in my teens; she would leave some food she made for me to sample and I loved her veloutés the best. She would use all kinds of combos of veggies. It was so comforting and creamy and delicious, like your soup!

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  21. This looks amazingly tempting! Never thought of doing this with chestnuts. Just gorgeous.

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  22. I've made roasted chestnut soup and butternut squash soup before, but never the 2 flavors together, what a nice combination!

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  23. My veloute' hat is off to you girlfriend! I am staring at a butternut squash on my kitchen counter that is begging for roasting right now!

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  24. mmm, this looks delicious! love the flavor pairing you've created. i can see why it would be addicting.

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  25. The combination of flavors sounds amazing. Do you get the chesnuts at your regular supermarket, or somewhere special? Congrats on top 9!

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  26. Ooh, your photos are so beautiful here, Trix, and the soup sounds so rich and awesome. I love that. Plus, I was just telling me Cauldron Boy how I don't think I've ever had a chestnut. I'll look out for them in hopes of making this when I'm at the market...:-)

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  27. I always wondered what made a veloute a veloute, and now I know! This soup sounds so silky and velvety, and I agree - the smokiness of bacon goes so well with hearty chestnuts!

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  28. I love chestnut. This looks wonderful! I like to make it while chestnut still available in store.
    Great blog!

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  29. This is soooo pretty. I love it when soups are served in mugs. Nom.

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  30. The soup looks out of this world heavenly! Love the bacon garnish too, a refined touch.

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