Squash & Peanut Soup
African Inspiration, Autumnal AF
This soup is a riff on maafé, a West African stew with sweet potatoes and peanuts (you’ll see countless variations from Senegal to Ghana and beyond), but swapping squash in for the spuds and using East African berbere for a gently Ethiopian inclination. The result is one of the better things I’ve made lately, and the addition of beef broth and crisp chopped (and heavily seasoned) peanuts on top makes this a satisfying meal by itself.
The squash I used were a pair of honeynut, which I have grown for several years now, though I should point out that squash beetles and drought combined to destroy my entire crop this year so these were sent to me by Row 7, who developed the seeds. I’ve been a fan of their work since they got started. Honeynut are quite a lot smaller than butternut, but much sweeter—so a little does a long way in a purée like this. You can see in the photo how thick it is, though that’s also a function of how reduced my stock got while I was doing other things. You can obviously dilute it as desired.
The method is simple. Halve and seed the squash, oil the cut sides lightly, and roast them cut sides down at about 375˚F for half an hour until they’re super soft. Scoop the soft flesh into a bowl, then add about a tablespoon of smooth peanut butter1 per cup or so of squash. Dice and sauté half an onion (or a whole one if you’re making a lot of soup), shake in some berebere, and when the onion starts to soften add the squash, peanut butter, and the stock of your choice (this was beef stock because I had a couple of roasted marrow bones that needed using). Use an immersion blender to purée everything together, then add a bit of heavy cream, stir well, and salt to taste.
For the topping, take some raw peanuts, chop them coarsely, and sauté them gently with some finely shredded sage leaves and the leaves from a couple of sprigs of thyme. I used bone marrow fat to sauté these, because I had some from those bones, but any oil or fat will do—peanut oil would be a logical choice. I also added smoked paprika and sumac powder to this mixture, and then enough salt to make it taste bright and focused. You want it to really pop.
If you’re looking for a super sexy texture, pass the soup through a strainer before serving. Sprinkle some of the peanut mixture on top of each bowl and dive in.
You don’t want processed peanut butter; the ingredients should read “peanuts.”