For our first recipe for this month, with how busy the holiday season can get, I wanted to highlight a super simple and delicious recipe to make, that’ll keep you warm and well-fed in this cold winter month, without breaking the bank in terms of cost so you’ll have more money to spend on gifts for Christmas.
Normally, I find the naturally sweet, nutty, creamy butternut squash soup more of a fall recipe, but butternut squash is technically a winter squash and soup is always delicious during chilly days like today, so I thought it was an appropriate one to make.
The seeds and skin of this squash are actually edible once you roast them, but they don’t work well in the soup since they’re both pretty tough. But, if you do have a strong blender, you can blend them as well to add some nice fiber to your soup. Or, you can just enjoy them separately as well.
For any leftover soup, let it cool to room temperature and you can then store it in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week or so, but if you want to save it for longer, you can also store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Then, when you want to eat it, you can just reheat it on the stove as normal. In fact, letting it rest in the fridge will help the flavors meld even more and make it taste even better.
But regardless of if you eat it freshly hot or reheat it from frozen, this hearty vegetable soup will be a great way to warm you up on a cold, winter day.
Ingredients:
- 1 (3-pound) butternut squash
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil
- 1-2 tbsp butter
- 1 large shallot or onion
- 1 large carrot
- 1 stalk celery
- 3-4 garlic cloves
- 1-2 tbsp fresh sage, rosemary, and/or thyme
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 3 to 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- Some salt
- Some black pepper
- Some heavy cream (optional)
Step 1: Roast Vegetables at 425°F
First, preheat the oven to 425°F and while we wait for that, we’ll prepare the vegetables for roasting. To cut the squash, slice off a little bit on the top and bottom. Then, evenly chop it in half by slicing it vertically from top to bottom.
Next, drizzle each butternut squash half with just enough olive oil to lightly coat the entire squash. Then, season it with some salt and place it cut side down on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. If you wish, you can also roast your garlic, shallots, onions, and/or carrots by cutting them in half and coating them in oil as well and placing them on the same baking tray.
Your oven should be done preheating by now, so place your tray in the oven and let them roast for about 40 to 50 minutes, until the squash is tender and the skin is blistered.
Then, set the vegetables aside until they’re cool enough to handle, and then remove the seeds from the squash halves before using.
Step 2: Cook Shallots/Onion, Celery, Carrots, & Garlic Until Softened
While the roasted vegetables cool, in a large pot over medium heat, melt butter and while we wait for that, chop up your shallots/onion, celery, carrots, and garlic (if you didn’t roast them) and then add them to the melted butter along with some salt, pepper, minced herbs, and nutmeg, and cook these until softened and fragrant, about 7 to 10 minutes.
Step 3: Add Cooked Squash to Pot; Add Broth & Simmer for 10 Minutes; Take off Heat & Blend Vegetables into Smooth Soup
Then, scoop out the cooked squash flesh from the roasted skin and add it along with any of the other roasted vegetables to your pot.
Then, pour in your broth and then let this simmer for 10 minutes.
Then, take the soup off the heat and using an immersion blender, blend the soup until creamy.
Alternatively, you can carefully transfer batches of the hot soup to a blender. Or, you can just use a masher to mash and mix everything together, if you don’t care about making the soup super smooth.
Step 4: Add Salt & Pepper if Needed; Add Garnish; Serve w/ Crusty Bread; & Enjoy!
If your soup is too thick, you can blend in some more broth to help thin it out some more. But in either case, give it a taste and then stir in more salt and pepper, if necessary.
Then, ladle out your soup into individual bowls, garnish with some minced herbs, ground black pepper, and/or some cream on top and serve with some crusty bread as desired, and with that, your Butternut Squash Soup is ready to eat.