September 23, 2013

Sweet Dumpling Squash Soup

This Sweet Dumpling Squash Soup is the perfect way to celebrate one of autumn’s most unique squash varieties. As easy as roasting, blending, and topping with crispy bacon! 

Closeup of bowl of yellow autumn soup, topped with crispy bacon and sage leaves.

Is spending over $500 on a blender crazy? Probably. But, is spending $22 on that blender crazy? Not at all!

After asking for Williams-Sonoma gift cards for every birthday, Christmas, and special occasion (plus hoarding credit card rewards points like nobody’s business) for the last several years, the Vitamix Professional Series 300 was finally mine – for just $22 out of pocket.

Known as blenders for professional chefs and serious home cooks, I had logged quite a bit of time with Vitamixes while I was in culinary school. Each time I used one, I marveled at how efficient it was, and how it could blend anything.

I’m convinced you could throw some granite chunks and blueberries in this thing, and you would be drinking a granite-berry smoothie a moment later. Yum? (I mean, a blueberry lemon smoothie would be better).

Since the moment it arrived (seriously, I blended something within 2 minutes of unboxing it), I’ve been blending up a storm. Mostly lemon smoothies, but sauces, soups, and margaritas, too.

Two dumpling squashes, one whole and one cut in half, exposing seeds.

About this sweet dumpling squash soup:

Pureed squash soup is one of my favorite foods. I generally use butternut squash, but I branched out this time and picked up a few sweet dumpling squashes.
Pureed with some roasted garlic and onion, sprinkled with a sampling of my spice drawer essentials, and topped with perfect, crispy oven bacon, this dumpling squash soup is the ideal dinner to slowly ease you into the understanding that yes, fall is here.

Two bowls of soup alongside a whole sweet dumpling squash, green napkin and two spoons.

How to cook sweet dumpling squash:

First, you’ll want to cut each squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Place the halves on a baking pan, drizzle them with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Transfer the squash to a 375 degree oven and roast one hour or until the squash is very tender.

What does sweet dumpling squash taste like?

The orange flesh of a dumpling squash is very sweet, as the name implies. It also has a nutty (almost like hazelnut) flavor that makes it ideal for savory cooking.
Bowl of bright yellow soup next to a sweet dumpling squash.

Can you eat the skin of a sweet dumpling squash?

That’s one of the unique things about this variety of squash – you can eat the skin! Unlike other varieties of autumn squash where the skin is thick and tough, the skin of dumpling squash is very thin and entirely edible.
For this soup, I chose to use just the flesh of the squash, but if you’d like to also puree the skin into the soup, you’re welcome to do that.

Two bowls of squash soup, topped with bacon and sage leaves.

What to serve with sweet dumpling squash soup:

If you’d like to serve this soup with a salad, I’d recommend a simple green salad dressed with citrus salad dressing or creamy lemon feta dressing. An heirloom tomato and beet salad or cucumber and avocado salad would also be yummy.
 
Yield: 6 servings

Sweet Dumpling Squash Soup

Two bowls of soup made from sweet dumpling squash, topped with bacon and sage leaves.

This Sweet Dumpling Squash Soup is the perfect way to celebrate one of autumn's most unique squash varieties. As easy as roasting, blending, and topping with crispy bacon! 

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 4 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 34 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 large dumpling squashes (about 5-1/2 pounds total)
  • 4 garlic cloves (in their skins)
  • 1/2 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 4 fresh sage leaves
  • 1 can (14.5 ounces) chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup water, plus additional if needed
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 cup half and half
  • 8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Halve squashes and scoop out seeds. Place squashes on one rimmed baking pan, and garlic and onion on another rimmed baking pan. Drizzle everything with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  2. Transfer both pans to oven. Roast garlic and onion 30 minutes or until onion is golden brown. Remove garlic and onion from oven; remove garlic from skins and discard skins.
  3. Roast squash 60 minutes or until very tender. Let squash cool 10 minutes.
  4. Scoop squash flesh and transfer to blender. Add sage, broth, water, cumin, paprika, turmeric and roasted onion and garlic. Blend until smooth.
  5. Transfer squash mixture to large pot on stove and cook over medium heat 4 to 6 minutes or until warmed through.
  6. Stir in half-and-half. If thinner consistency is desired, add additional water in 1/4 cup increments until desired consistency is achieved. Taste soup and season with additional salt if needed.
  7. Serve soup garnished with bacon.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1-1/3 cups
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 263Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 1051mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 5gSugar: 3gProtein: 9g
© Foxes Love Lemons LLC. Images registered with U.S. Copyright Office.
Cuisine: American / Category: Soups

More great fall squash recipes:

Collage of images of soup with overlay: SWEET DUMPLING SQUASH SOUP just roast + blend!