With a vivid orange-yellow hue; subtle sweetness but underlying savoriness; spicy, earthy fragrance; and silken texture, this pureed butternut squash soup is a feast for the senses. To cook the squash, this recipe employs steaming. Steaming produces a soup with a pure squash flavor and bright color. The twist here, though, is that the steaming liquid—which is usually discarded once cooking is complete—is flavored with shallots and the squash seeds and strings and becomes the stock for the soup. For this reason, it's necessary to use a measured amount of water—6 cups—in the bottom of the pot for steaming; don't worry if the bottom of the squash pieces come into contact with the water. Other than that, the same precepts apply here as they do to steaming in general: be sure to cut the squash into relatively uniform shapes and sizes so that the pieces cook at about the same rate, and keep the pot tightly covered during steaming to prevent excess moisture loss. This soup can be dressed up with croutons, toasted pumpkin seeds, or a dollop of yogurt or sour cream.