Bryan Calvert Turns Baby Blue Hubbard Squash Into Creamy Soup
The chef uses stovetop techniques and adds pears and blue cheese to the winter vegetable.
By Lorenzo Marshall ·
Chef Bryan Calvert presents a recipe that transforms baby blue Hubbard squash into a creamy soup. The dish features sweet orange flesh, salty blue cheese, and crisp pear pieces. Calvert developed the recipe for his cookbook, Brooklyn Rustic.
Hubbard squash is a large winter variety with a blue exterior. Calvert advises using baby squash because the larger ones are unwieldy. The vegetable’s flesh is described as sweet and creamy, making it suitable for roasting or stovetop cooking.
The recipe serves four to six people. It requires 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, two diced celery stalks, one large diced shallot, and one small chopped garlic clove. Cooks also need half of a baby blue Hubbard squash or one large butternut squash. The liquid base consists of 2 tablespoons of dry white wine and 2 quarts of vegetable or chicken stock.
Calvert instructs cooks to melt butter in a large pot over medium-low heat. The celery, shallot, and garlic cook until the shallot is translucent. The squash and wine are added and cooked for about two minutes until the wine mostly evaporates. Stock, one thyme sprig, and one bay leaf join the pot. The mixture simmers over medium heat for 35 to 40 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
While the soup simmers, cooks core a red Bartlett pear and slice it into matchstick pieces about 2 inches long. The pear slices are tossed in a bowl with vinegar, honey, 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, and a pinch of salt. This mixture sets aside while the soup finishes cooking.
The soup is pureed in a blender until smooth and creamy. Cooks may need to process the liquid in batches. The consistency is adjusted with additional stock if necessary. The soup is seasoned with fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper. It is ladled into warm bowls or a tureen and garnished with 4 ounces of crumbled blue cheese and the pickled pear pieces.
Calvert ran James restaurant in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, from 2008 to 2013. He is also a co-founder of Cecil & Merl, a national brand of artisanal home and kitchen goods. The recipe appears in Brooklyn Rustic, published in 2016 by Voracious, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company. The soup freezes well, allowing cooks to use a whole squash and double the recipe for a large batch.
