Photo by Michael Piazza

Celebrated local chef Michael Leviton highlights the harvest when making his Sukkot menu. The blending of seasonal New England produce and Sephardic flavors appeals to Leviton’s ideal of connecting local harvest with the holiday’s ancient roots. In this very seasonal, richly aromatic squash soup, Leviton includes instructions for vegetable stock and quatre épices, a four-spice blend, but commercial vegetable stock and pre-ground store-bought spices are fine substitutes. And while the recipe makes enough soup for a small army—or sukkah gathering, open house, harvest party or tailgate—if you cut the ingredients in half you’ll still have a nice big pot of soup with ample leftovers to freeze for winter.

Serves about 16–20 people

4 pounds butternut squash (around 2 whole squash, give or take), halved lengthwise
2 pounds yellow onions, peeled and sliced
¼ cup unsalted butter or neutral oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
vegetable stock (recipe follows)
2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons quatre épices (recipe follows)

Vegetable stock:
3 onions, peeled and coarsely chopped
4 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
½ fennel bulb, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 parsnip, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled
8 cups water

Quatre épices:
2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
1 whole nutmeg
1½ teaspoons whole cloves
1½ teaspoons allspice berries
3 tablespoons ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350°F. Arrange squash halves cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet. Prick squash all over with the tines of a fork. Roast until very tender—about 1½ hours, depending upon the size of your squash.

Meanwhile, melt butter or heat oil in a large pot, add the onions and season liberally with salt and pepper. Cook gently, until meltingly tender and very sweet. Keep the heat very low and keep the lid on, stirring occasionally, so onions do not brown.

When squash is tender all the way through, remove from oven. When cool enough to handle, split squash and scoop out flesh, discarding skins and seeds.

Add squash to the large pot with the onions and just barely cover with vegetable stock, reserving some stock to thin out soup later. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce heat to a simmer.

When squash begins to fall apart, add cream and return to a simmer. Remove from heat and purée in batches (or use an immersion blender); for a very smooth soup, pass through the finest strainer you have, pressing on any solids.

Return soup to pot and heat through. If soup is too thick, add more vegetable stock and/or cream. Stir in quatre épices one tablespoon at a time; taste and season with salt and more quatre épices if you like. Serve hot.

Vegetable Stock:
Combine all ingredients in a stockpot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes. Remove from heat and strain. Store any leftover stock in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze.

Quatre épices:
In a dry skillet, lightly toast the whole spices (not the ginger). Grate the whole nutmeg into a small bowl using a Microplane. In a spice grinder, finely grind the cloves, allspice and peppercorns. Combine with nutmeg and ginger in the bowl and whisk to combine.

Editor's Note: This recipe makes much more than the 2 tablespoons you need for the soup; store in an airtight container and use throughout the cool season in everything from roasted sweet potatoes and gingerbread to sausages, savory terrines and stews.

This recipe appeared in the Fall 2019 issue as part of a larger story on the Jewish holiday Sukkot.