Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

In an effort to eat healthier and include more fruits and vegetables into my diet, I ordered local farm fresh ingredients from a company called Milk and Eggs. It’s relatively inexpensive, they offer free delivery, and they have some items you might only find at Farmer’s Markets. Some highlights: Brothers Products  spicy hummus and mango labneh (this was SO FRIGGIN’ GOOD), and Better Booch Morning Glory Organic Peach Kombucha Tea (also amazing). I ordered a variety of vegetables and fruits to try, which included a beautiful butternut squash. I know it sounds weird to refer to a squash as beautiful, but once I cracked this open it yielded a bright orange flesh. I haven’t cooked too often with butternut squash but the times I had, the flesh was never this orange and appetizing.

I perused some recipes online for an idea of what I wanted in my soup and came across this one on Serious Eats. Being a HUGE fan of J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, I really like the recipes on this website. This particular recipe was written by a different editor, but as a trustworthy recipe website, I had faith that the soup would turn out great. As I read the required ingredients I did realize that I didn’t have heavy cream or sour cream so I wouldn’t be making the whipped cream topping and I also didn’t have any sage so that exnayed the fried sage topping as well.

My soup turned out to be a very simple soup highlighting the sweetness and purity of the butternut squash I received from Milk and Eggs. I gave some to my Aunts (both who are excellent chefs) and they LOVED it 🙂 If you’re looking for a recipe for a creamy, unctuous and thick soup then look no further!

Ingredients

• 1 Butternut Squash (About 1.5 – 2 lb) cut into 1″ cubes
• Half an Onion sliced
• Half an apple cut into 1/2″ cubes (I used a Fuji apple)*
• 4 Tbsp of Unsalted Butter divided in half
• 4 cloves of Garlic sliced
• 4 cups (1 Quart) of Vegetable Broth
• 1 sprig of Thyme
• 1 Bay Leaf
• Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Recipe

Preheat oven to 425F. Prepare squash by peeling, seeding and cutting into 1″ cubes.

Pour about 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil on 2 separate sheet pans and divide the cubed butternut squash evenly onto each pan. Don’t overcrowd the pans! Put the squash in the oven for about 40 minutes, making sure to turn the pieces two to three times throughout the cooking.

In a medium sized Dutch oven, brown 2 Tbsp of butter. Add the sliced onions, garlic and apple pieces and lightly caramelize.

Remove roasted butternut squash from oven and scrape into the Dutch oven with the onion, garlic and apples.

Add the thyme and bay leaf as well as about 3 cups of stock into the dutch oven. Bring to a simmer, then lower heat and simmer until vegetables are very soft, about 10 minutes. Discard thyme sprig and bay leaf.

Add the soup mixture into a blender (or use a stick blender) to blend all the ingredients until very smooth.

Return soup to Dutch oven and thin out with remaining stock until desired consistency. Add remaining 2 Tbsp of butter and salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

More dairy such as heavy cream or milk can be added to yield a creamier soup.

*My soup turned out quite sweet from the butternut squash and the apple and had the perfect amount of tartness from the apple. If you prefer your butternut squash soup to be less sweet but would like to retain some tartness, I suggest using a different varietal of apple that is tart and less sweet such as a granny smith.