The Black Gold of Austria

I am a grateful, lucky woman!  I just returned from a fantastic trip to Munich, Salzburg and Vienna with the Assumption Church choir. It was a wonderful opportunity to get to know my fellow choir members, see spectacular sites and sing in beautiful and historic churches including St. Ludwig Cathedral in Munich (The church Assumption was designed after).

Introvert that I am, I confess to being a little anxious about the big group aspect of the trip.  I envisioned 70 people tromping through Europe in lock step along with endless spending hours on a tour bus. To my delight, in actuality, the trip included the perfect amount of big group, small group and alone time.

As you can imagine, I spent almost all my free time tracking down fabulous food finds in each of these wonderful cities. As I may have mentioned, when I travel, I visit farmer’s markets and grocery stores, like most people go to art museums – wacky, I know.

Far and away, my favorite was the Viktualien Market in Munich.  open air and bustling, it was chock full of beautiful farm fresh produce, local delicacies and sausage vendors – I was in heaven!

My second favorite food was the, aforementioned, Black Gold of Austria – Pumpkin Seed Oil.  The oil is from Styria in southeastern Austria and I’m over the moon for its toasty flavor and gorgeous green color. Luckily, you can also find it in specialty food stores and on Amazon.com.

As soon as I got home, I started experimenting with the pumpkin seed oil.  The first fabulous result is this Squash Soup with Sage and Pumpkin Seed Oil on the blog today.

I invite you to try this delicious, savory and comforting soup in your kitchen.  It’s equally perfect for a Thanksgiving starter or a cold winter night at home.  Enjoy!

Squash Soup with Sage and Pumpkin Seed Oil

This savory, comforting soup is the perfect way to celebrate beautiful winter squash. I incorporated sage, thyme and my Austrian Black Gold (pumpkin seed oil) to create a delicious, toasty soup that's wonderful for a holiday or just a weeknight at home. (this recipe is adapted from a Deborah Madison recipe)

Servings 8 people

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Ingredients

Squash Soup

• 1 large butternut squash
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil separated
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 8 leaves fresh sage or 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
• 8 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth
• 1 medium Onion
• 1 large leek or a second medium onion
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin seed oil or toasted sesame oil

Fried Sage

• 10 leaves fresh sage
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Make the soup

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees
• Wash any dirt off of the butternut squash and split it lengthwise
  
• Scoop the seeds out of the squash
  
• Brush the squash with olive oil
  
• Place the squash, cut side down, on a baking sheet and bake until brown and soft to the touch - about 40 minutes
  
• Let the squash cool slightly and scoop the flesh out of the skin
  
• Chop the onion (or onions)
  
• Chop the leek (if using)
  
• Chop the garlic
  
• Chop the first 8 leaves of sage and strip the thyme leaves off the stem (or measure the dried herbs)
  
• Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot
  
• Add the onions, leeks (if using), sage, thyme, salt and pepper to the pot and saute until the onions begin to soften - about 10 minutes
  
• Add the garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds
  
• Add the squash squash and 6 cups of vegetable broth to the pot. (You may need to add more as it cooks to get the consistency you like in the soup)
  
• Stir the soup, smoothing the squash with a spoon, and bring to a boil
  
• Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes
  
• Grab your handy, dandy immersion blender (or regular blender)
  
• Blend the soup until it's smooth and a consistency you like, adding more broth as necessary. Adjust the seasonings to your taste - I often find it needs more salt at this point, especially if I use low sodium broth
  

Fry the Sage

• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan
  
• Pick the 10 lovely sage leaves
  
• Fry the sage leaves for about 30 seconds or until just crisp. They will smell fantastic!
  
• Set the fried sage leaves on a paper towel to drain and sprinkle with kosher salt
  

Finish the fabulous soup

• Serve the squash soup in a pretty bowl with a fried sage leaf and a drizzle of pumpkin seed oil (or toasted sesame oil)
  

Course: Lunch