Butternut Squash Velouté with Toasted Hazelnuts

When temperatures drop in the Laurentians and squash piles up at the market, our team invariably returns to this recipe. This butternut squash velouté is not an ordinary soup: the squash is first roasted in the oven until caramelized, concentrating its natural sugars and adding a depth of flavour that water-cooking cannot achieve. The result is remarkably silky, with a perfect balance between the sweetness of the squash and the crunch of toasted hazelnuts.

For six people, you will need a large butternut squash of about one and a half kilograms, one yellow onion, two cloves of garlic, one litre of good-quality chicken or vegetable stock, one teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg, half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, one tablespoon of freshly grated ginger, one hundred millilitres of thick crème fraîche, olive oil, salt and pepper, and one hundred grams of whole hazelnuts for the garnish.

Preheat the oven to two hundred degrees Celsius. Cut the squash in half lengthwise, remove the seeds, brush the flesh with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Place the halves cut-side down on a baking tray and roast for forty to fifty minutes, until the flesh is tender and the edges begin to caramelize lightly. Meanwhile, sauté the thinly sliced onion in a large pot with a little olive oil over low heat for ten minutes until translucent and lightly golden. Add the garlic, ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon, and cook for another two minutes to release the aromas.

Once the squash is roasted and slightly cooled, scoop out the flesh and add it to the pot with the onion. Pour in the stock, bring to a boil, and simmer for ten minutes. Blend with an immersion blender until perfectly smooth, then stir in the crème fraîche. Adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper, and spices to taste. The soup should be silky and lightly body, neither too thick nor too thin.

For the hazelnuts, toast them dry in a pan over medium heat for five minutes, stirring regularly, until the skins start to crack and their aroma is released. Let cool slightly, then rub in a clean cloth to remove the skin. Chop them roughly with a knife. To serve, pour the hot velouté into warmed bowls, add a spoonful of crème fraîche at the centre, scatter with the chopped hazelnuts, drizzle with olive oil, and add a few fresh thyme leaves. A turn of the pepper mill and it is ready, a bowl that warms as much as it delights.