10/08/2026
Straight from the kitchen: Chef Joe’s favorite fall dish to prepare!
The temperature is dropping so try your hand at this Fall Butternut Squash Soup, the perfect way to warm up on a crisp, autumn night.
👨🍳 Ingredients:
• 3-3.5 lbs butternut squash
• 2 TBSP canola oil
• 1 cup diced pancetta
• 1/4 cup arborio rice
• 1 pinch Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 sprigs sage
• 1 cup thinly sliced (1/8” thick) leeks
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced (1/8” thick) carrots
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced (1/8” thick) shallots
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced (1/8” thick) onions
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled & smashed
• 6 cup chicken stock plus extra, if necessary
• 8 sprig thyme, 2 sprigs Italian parsley, 2 bay leaves & 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns, all wrapped in a bouquet garni packet made of 2 green leek leaves
• 4 TBSP unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup crème fraîche
• 1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• Canola oil (if using sage leaves)
• 1 TBSP minced chives or 12 sage leaves
Step 1️⃣
Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a small baking sheet with
aluminum foil or parchment.
Step 2️⃣
Cut the neck off the squash and set it aside. Cut the bulb in half, scoop out and discard the seeds.
Brush each half inside and out with about 1.5 TSP of the canola oil. Sprinkle the cavities with salt and pepper and tuck a sprig of sage into each. Place cut side down on the baking sheet and roast for about 1 hour, or until completely tender.
Remove the squash from the oven and let cool, then scoop out and reserve the flesh (discard sage). Using a peeler, peel away the skin from the neck of the squash until you reach the bright orange flesh. Cut the flesh into 1/2-inch pieces (you should have about 4 cups).
Step 3️⃣
Put the remaining canola oil in a stockpot over medium-high heat, add pancetta, leeks, carrots, shallots, onions and cook, stirring often, for about 6 minutes.
Add the diced squash, garlic, 1/2 TSP salt and 1/2 TSP pepper and cook gently for 3 minutes, reducing the heat as necessary to keep the garlic and squash from coloring.
Stir in the rice and cook, stirring for 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bouquet garni, bring to a simmer
and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the squash is tender.
Add the roasted squash and simmer gently for about 30 minutes for the flavors to blend. Remove from the heat and discard the bouquet garni.
Transfer the soup to a blender in batches and puree. Strain the soup through a fine sieve into a bowl. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning as needed.
Let the soup cool and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Heat a medium skillet over high heat. Once hot, add the butter and rotate the skillet over the heat as necessary to brown the butter evenly, scraping up any bits that settle in the bottom. Be careful not to leave the butter over the heat too long, as it can change from rich brown to black in seconds. Once the foaming has subsided and the butter is a hazelnut brown, pour it into the pot of soup.
Top with a dollop of crème fraîche and garnish with fried sage leaves or minced chives. Enjoy!