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1
Heat a 4-quart sauce pan or small pot over low heat.
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2
Add the butter and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent, 3 to 5 minutes.
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3
Stir in the squash, broth and cream, and season with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and one-fourth teaspoon pepper.
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4
Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently.
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5
Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook, loosely covered, until the squash is tender, about 20 minutes.
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6
Puree the soup in a blender, or using an immersion blender, and pass through a strainer to remove any remaining solids.
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7
You should have about 9 cups soup.
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8
Set aside in a warm place until ready to serve.
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9
While the soup is cooking, candy the pecans.
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10
Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan, stirring to moisten all of the sugar.
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11
Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat and cook, evaporating the water and cooking the sugar, until a thermometer inserted in the liquid reads 265 degrees (hard ball stage for sugar), 10 to 12 minutes.
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12
Immediately remove from heat.
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13
Add the pecans and pepper powder to the sugar and stir with a wooden spoon until cool.
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14
The sugar will crystallize (or seize) as it cools, forming a cloudy hard coating around the nuts; this is fine.
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15
When the nuts have cooled, heat a clean, medium pan over moderate heat.
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16
Stir in the crystallized nuts and stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar coating on each nut caramelizes.
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17
Remove from heat and allow the caramelized nuts to cool on a sheet of parchment paper.
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18
Ladle the soup into bowls and serve garnished with a small handful of spiced candied pecans and a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds.
