Creamy Roasted Squash Soup

'Tis the season for squash, so why not whip up a batch of this? It even freezes nicely if you make too much.

You'll need:

2-3 Squash, depending on size (I prefer butternut or acorn)
2 Carrots, peeled and chopped
2 Celery Stalks, chopped
1 Onion (sweet vidalia works nice, but any ol' onion works), chopped
2 Small Potatoes (I used red), peeled and chopped
1 Garlic Clove, chopped
4 Tablespoons of Butter
4 Tablespoons of Canola Oil
Salt & Pepper
1 Tablespoon of Ground Ginger
1/4 Teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper
1/4 Teaspoon of Ground Sage
4 Cups of Chicken Stock*
1 Cup of Heavy Cream*
1 Cup of Whole Milk*

*Depending on your preferences, you may play around with the liquid portions of this soup. I strongly urge you to use some heavy cream because it puts the soup over the top, but if you only have milk on hand, that works. Also, the amount of chicken stock (or veggie stock) can be adjusted depending on how thick or thin you want the soup. Often, after refrigerating, I like to add a little more stock when reheating.


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Prep squash for roasting, and use whatever squash you have or like. Even a combination is nice. I'd just skip the spaghetti squash for this soup since you're going for a creamy and smooth texture in the end. No need to peel the squash. Just cut in half and scoop out the seeds. Place squash halves on roasting pan, inside part down. Roast for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until fork tender. Cool enough to handle, and scoop out pulp.



While the squash is roasting, start the base for the soup on the stove top. Using a large stock pan, melt the butter with the oil over medium low heat. Add the remaining vegetables and slowly saute until soft (not browning). Add salt, pepper, ground ginger, cayenne, sage and chicken stock. Heat to a light simmer, and add squash pulp when ready. Turn off heat. Now, to blend.

I use an immersion blender so I can do this right in the pan. Or, you can carefully transfer little by little into a blender or food processor. You want it to be completely pureed. Some people might strain it all after too, to ensure no small bits or chunks, but that's no big deal to me.

After thoroughly blending, add your milk and cream and fold together. If everything was still pretty hot when you were done blending, there's no need to turn the heat back on after adding the dairy. I find it ends up being just hot enough to serve even when adding the cold ingredients. If it's not hot enough for you, gently warm over medium low heat, careful not to heat too fast or too hot because the dairy cultures are fragile and will break.

Enjoy!

Pssst. You wanna kick this up a notch? Crumble up a slice of crispy bacon and sprinkle it on! Or, go the sweeter route and crumble a few gingersnap cookies over it! Both add texture and another layer of flavor!