Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Serves: 8-10 | Prep time: 30 minutes | Total time: 2 hours
Roasted butternut squash soup is one of those creamy, dreamy soups that one typically only orders in restaurants. I like to make it at the first hint of fall, overload it with garlic to cut the sweetness, and stock up/make again/freeze for Lisa until at least April. However, be warned: This dish is not for the faint of heart! Butternut squash, in particular, is a savage, bulbous beast that strongly resists any attempts to easily and quickly peel. A good vegetable peeler, a stiff drink, and some bandages close by are recommended before beginning the task at hand. Swearing is encouraged! Does this add to the flavor/elegance of the dish? Probably not. Does it make me feel better when I accidentally peel my knuckle? Dear reader, it truly does! Luckily this is a blended soup, so the chopping and dicing can be as ugly as you please. I serve this soup every year at my Test-Giving dinner party and even though the turkey is the “star,” this soup always steals the spotlight.
Ingredients
3 tbsp olive oil
2 medium butternut squashes, peeled and cubed
2 heads garlic, peeled into cloves (seriously, that much)
2 large yellow onions, roughly chopped
6-8 cups veggie broth*
2 bay leaves
½ cup cream (optional)
Salt & Pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Peel and dice squash and try not to cut yourself in the process—they are NO joke!
Mix all together in a large bowl with good salt, freshly ground pepper, and appropriate splashes of olive oil.
Roast in a pan until soft, approx 60 minutes. Stir every 20! Set aside when done—you can chill out for a couple of hours, too, if you aren’t quite ready to make the squash into soup!
Chop onions (again, you can make them as fug as you want, yay blended soups!) and heat oil in a large pot. Sauté onions over medium-high heat and cook until soft, about 7 minutes.
Add in squash and mix up. If you have some to spare, splash in some white wine and cook down for 1 minute.
Pour in broth until squash is covered and add bay leaves. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer.
Cook for 30 minutes. Make sure to taste and add salt as needed!
Turn off heat and use an immersion blender until soup is smooth. If you are lucky enough to own a Vitamix* go ahead and USE IT! The creamier, the better.
Return to stove on low heat, stir in cream (optional), and serve. This is such a flavorful soup that it doesn’t need much more, but season with more salt and pepper if you feel it needs it! No garnish either—this soup is perfect as is. :)
*Better than bullion is my stand by store bought broth! I much prefer to use home made, and only resort to bullion cubes in case of an emergency.
*Vitamix is not paying me to promote their products, we just LOVE them!
