Easy Fall Soups a Recipe for Butternut Squash Soup with Mushrooms and Hazelnuts
This recipe for Butternut Squash Soup comes from Gilles at Provence Gourmet. It is perfect for the cooler weather months and a dish you might make in one of his cooking classes in the Fall.
In Provence, a sure sign that autumn is on its way is when the orange and yellow squash appear in local markets. There is a large bright variety that looks like a pumpkin you would carve for Halloween – this is called courge. Courge is typically sold by the slice and is great roasted or in soups.
Where the courge can be large the potimarron, also bright orange, are small enough to fit in your palm – known as Red Kuri or Hokkaido squash in North America.
Other gourds such as butternut, spaghetti and acorn are also readily available in Provence and the main ingredient in Gilles’ recipe that follows.

Butternut Squash Soup with Mushrooms and Hazelnuts
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Butternut squash peeled, de-seeded and chopped
- 18 fl oz Chicken stock details below
- 1 oz Dried Cep mushrooms rehydrate in milk
- 0.4 fl oz Heavy Cream
- 1 Shallot
- 2-3 tsp olive oil
- Salt and Pepper
- 5-6 Hazelnuts lightly toasted and chopped
Instructions
- Preparation: For your stock either have a bouillon cube or make a quick stock using leftover chicken, adding an onion, garlic, thyme, a bay leave and salt in warm water.
- Mince your shallot and put in a pan with olive oil (2 tsp) on low-medium fire. The shallot should remain translucent and not brown.
- After 5 minutes add the diced butternut, salt, pepper and stir for another 10 minutes then add your stock and cover the pan.
- Cook 15 minutes, mix and keep warm.
- After rehydrating the mushrooms in some milk, brown them in a pan (medium fire) with olive oil and after 5 minutes add the cream, salt and pepper.
- Stir for 5 more minutes, mix and keep warm. In a soup plate, pour 3 ladles of the squash mix and using a pastry bag decorate with the mushroom cream.
- Sprinkle chopped hazelnuts on top.
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