By Chef Matthew Welsch – Director of Culinary for W. Va State Parks and Resorts
October is when sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and pumpkin all hit their stride at once. They’re sweet, they’re cheap, they come in abundance, and every one of them is its own beautiful shade of orange, the color of autumn. Put all three in one pot for a delightful celebration of the season.
As much as I love this sweet fall bounty, it breaks my heart a little as a chef when I see people ramp up the sweetness to a full-on dessert level with candied pecans, brown sugar, and marshmallows. Each of these delicious vegetables has already got it going on. Please don’t cover up those beautiful flavors.
Now, I’m not one to mess with tradition, but do me a favor and try this recipe, as well. I think you’ll see that there’s more than one way to eat these ingredients.
I made a version of this bisque for the Riffle Farms Bison Roast last month, an annual event at the farm in Terra Alta. Riffle Farms is West Virginia’s only commercial bison farm, started in 2017 by Liz and Jimmie Riffle. You don’t need to make 5 gallons, though. Here’s a scaled-down recipe to feed your family with some leftovers for lunch the next day.
Roasting is the key to this recipe. It’s where the real flavor comes in. I suggest roasting everything in bison tallow, if you can get it, but that reserved Mason jar of bacon fat next to your range will work great, too. Or a simple, neutral oil does the same job, and may be a little more heart-healthy.
Use a small sugar pumpkin, sometimes sold as a pie pumpkin, instead of the big carving kind, which runs stringy and watery. Roast it all hard at a high heat until the edges caramelize, and season the finished soup boldly. Squash soup needs more salt than you think.
A nice hunk of sourdough bread makes this a meal. I was fortunate enough at Riffle Farms to have Hinerman Hill on hand with their fresh-baked loaves. Hinerman Hill Farm is a family-run farm in Preston County that turns out artisan sourdough and small-batch granola, and they teach sourdough classes too. If you can’t get that, and you don’t have time to make your own, the heartiest, crustiest bread you can find will do in a pinch.
Here’s how we put it all in one pot.
Fall Bisque
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Time: 1½ hours
1½ lbs Sugar Pumpkin, peeled, seeded, and cubed (one 2½ to 3 lb pumpkin)
1½ lbs Butternut Squash, peeled and cubed
1 lb Sweet Potato, peeled and cubed
3 T Bison Tallow, Bacon Fat, or Oil
1 ea Yellow Onion, diced
3 cloves Garlic, minced
4 T Unsalted Butter
4 C Vegetable or Chicken Stock
½ C Apple Cider
1 C Heavy Cream
1 T Maple Syrup
1 t Dried Sage
1 t Dried Thyme
¼ t Nutmeg
¼ t Cinnamon
TT Kosher Salt and White Pepper
¼ C Hickory Nuts or Pecans, toasted and crushed (topping)
½ C Sour Cream, loosened with a splash of buttermilk (topping)
ROAST: Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the pumpkin, butternut squash, and sweet potato with the fat and 1½ teaspoons salt. Spread across two sheet pans in a single layer and roast for 40 to 45 minutes, stirring once and swapping the pans halfway, until soft and caramelized at the edges. You want dark tan colors, not burnt, but squash has a lot of water in it and can take the abuse.
SWEAT AROMATICS: While the vegetables roast, melt the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until soft and fragrant but not browned.
SIMMER AND BLEND: Add the roasted vegetables, stock, cider, sage, and thyme. Simmer for 20 minutes. Blend until smooth with an immersion blender, or work in batches in a regular blender, leaving the lid vented so the steam can escape.
FINISH: Stir in the cream, maple syrup, nutmeg, and cinnamon. You’ll notice there’s just a touch of maple. One tablespoon complements the dish rather than overtaking it. Season with salt and white pepper, tasting as you go. Ladle into bowls and top each with toasted nuts and a spoonful of the buttermilk sour cream. Serve with plenty of bread.
Enjoy, friends. Save a bowl for the first really cold morning.
