Lovely weather for a bowl of hot soup! Butternut squash is so plentiful this time of year, so it’s easy to include it in your diet. It roasts beautifully for a side dish, or you can make a thick and delicious soup. For ease, I bought one pound of pre-cut butternut squash. It can be a challenge to cut and seed a whole squash

When I searched online, there were many simile recipes with a few ingredient variations of squash, liquids, and some spice. I decided to roast the butternut first, to intensify the flavor and remove a little liquid. I added one macintosh apple for sweetness and some spices to add to the flavor. It’s a little savory, a little sweet.

I omitted some of the liquid of other recipes. I wanted it to be thicker and not use any dairy. I had some blocks of frozen chicken stock in my freezer. You can absolutely use vegetable stock, homemade or store bought. The recipe doesn’t make so much soup, that you get sick of it. You can increase the ingredients to make more and freeze it. I topped off my bowl with roasted pumpkin seeds, for a little crunch. You can also used croutons.

As always, prep your ingredients so there are no surprises or delays. It makes the cooking experience much more pleasant.

Ingredients:

One pound of cut up butternut squash, cut in one inch cubes.

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 celery rib, chopped

3 cups chicken stock

olive oil or butter

1 apple, peeled, cored, and chopped

Pinch of cinnamon, ground ginger, cayenne, nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, sauté the onion, carrot and celery with either butter or olive oil. Cook on a medium high heat, stirring, until the vegetables are softened. This fragrance with waft through your home! Lower the heat if they start to brown. You only want them to soften.

In a 350 degree oven, add the cut up butternut squash to a cookie sheet. Toss with olive oil and salt. Roast the squash for about 15-20 minutes, so that it softens and gets a little color.

While the squash is roasting, add the stock to the softened vegetables. Stir and heat thoroughly. When the squash is softened, add it to the pot. Cover your pot and simmer for 30 minutes.

Once the soup cooked and all the vegetables are soft, use an immersion blender to puree the soup. You can (carefully) use a blender or use a food mill. Add the seasonings to the pureed soup. You can add as much or as little of the spices. I suggest adding a pinch at a time, because you can’t take out the spice once it’s been added. I didn’t want the soup to be overwhelmed with seasoning, so I added only pinches of the spices. Salt and pepper to taste.

I garnished the soup with roasted pumpkin seeds. You can add whatever you want or leave it plain. This soup makes about 6 cups and freezes nicely.

Here is one of the recipes I used.