This post was originally published in September 2017. Since then, I’ve made a few minor changes for the better. Instead of serving with prosciutto, I decided to render some fat from pancetta to make it crispy for serving on top alongside the crème fraiche and minced chives. The vegetables are sautéed directly in the rendered fat for added flavor. Of course, if you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, you can ignore all of this and sauté the vegetables in olive oil and use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
At the start of every fall season, I make this roasted butternut soup. It’s even more special this year because it happened to be the first dish I’ve made in my new place & a beautiful way to celebrate all the fresh produce California has to offer. It’s gluten-free and easily made vegetarian or vegan (see recipe notes). Some sort of squash soup should be in everyone’s fall recipe repertoire because is there a better way to celebrate the fall?? – see pumpkin spice everything everywhere. And even though I’m not a huge “make everything pumpkin spice” fan, I do love incorporating various types of squash into my fall recipes. Butternut squash is classic because they’re typically easier to find than let’s say . . . delicata squash or banana squash.
The Things You’ll Need
- Stockpot or Dutch Oven. This is a kitchen essential, not just for this soup. This is what you’ll be sautéing the veggies in and blending the soup.
- Peeler. Used to peel the skin off the butternut squash as well as peel the carrots.
- Immersion Blender. My favorite kitchen tool, which will be used to blend the soup directly in the pot. No need to transfer the soup to a food processor or blender, but you can as an alternative if you don’t yet have an immersion blender.
- Kitchen Twine/String. We use the kitchen twine to tie the bouquet garni of fresh herbs. The bouquet, including the string, will be add directly into the simmering liquid to allow the herbs to flavor the broth. The bouquet is removed before blending.
- Time. On a scale from microwave dinner to making 3-day croissants, this recipe requires a medium amount of time. But not three days! It’ll take some time to prep all the vegetables, depending on your knife skills, and you’ll need to roast half of the squash. Of course, you can work on prepping the rest of the ingredients while the squash is roasting, which should save some time.
Choosing the Perfect Squash
Start with a perfect butternut squash. What’s a perfect butternut squash? Glad you asked—no or minimal blemishes and evenly beige with no patches of green. The skin should be matte – not shiny. The stem should be intact to ensure freshness. A butternut squash that weighs somewhere between 2 to 3 ½ pounds will do just fine. I’ve made this recipe using squash on both ends of that range and it turns out great either way, so I wouldn’t get too hung up on the weight.
Cutting & Roasting the Squash
We’re only roasting the squash from the bulb. The rest of the squash will be added to the pot to simmer and soften with the rest of the vegetables. If your squash is pretty large and/or you’re a bit nervous to take a knife right through the squash in one motion: use your knife to score where you’d cut the squash and slow cut around the squash at the score line until the knife goes through easily.
The bulb of the squash is then seasoned with olive oil, salt, pepper, and fresh sage and then roasted for 45 minutes to an hour – depending on the size of your squash. The roasted squash flesh is later scooped out and added to the pot to simmer along with the other vegetables. For the neck of the squash, use a peeler to remove the skin and cut into evenly-sized cubes.
Tying the Bouquet Garni
Here’s something to make us all feel like true cooks who know a little something about something: a bouquet garni is a bundle of herbs tied together and used to prepare stews/soups and stocks. If you don’t have any kitchen string or twine, you can tie the bouquet with a piece of a leek or another herb. As long as it’s easy for you to add and remove it from the pot without it falling apart. The bouquet is always removed prior to serving. This bouquet has thyme, sage, parsley, and bay leaves.
For My Vegetarian & Vegan Friends
If you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, this recipe is easily adaptable. Ignore the stuff about the pancetta and just start sautéing your veggies in olive oil. Swap out the chicken broth for vegetable broth and, vegans, nix the crème fraîche and substitute with some coconut or cashew milk. If you want a bit more texture (since we’re not using pancetta), opt for toasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds.
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
My autumn equinox soup that gives comfort and all things butternut squash. This roasted butternut Squash Soup is topped with crispy pancetta, crème fraîche, and minced chives.
Ingredients
- 1 large, 2 to 3 ½ pound butternut squash
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- A large pinch of kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 sage leaves
- 2 ounces pancetta
- 1/2 cup yellow onion, diced
- 1/2 cup diced shallots, diced
- 6 garlic cloves, sliced or minced
- 1 cup leeks, chopped
- 1/2 cup carrots, cut into ¼ inch slices
- 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth or stock
- A bouquet garni of 10 sprigs thyme, 2 sage leaves, 2 sprigs Italian parsley, 2 bay leaves (wrapped in a leek leaf and/or kitchen twine)
- Crème fraiche, for serving
- Minced chives, for serving
Instructions
- Cut the squash in half horizontally (separating the neck and the bulb). Cut the bulb of the squash open and scoop out and discard the seeds. Brush each cavity with a tablespoon of olive oil, sprinkle flesh with salt and freshly ground black pepper and stick a sage leaf in each cavity. Roast the bulb halves flesh side down on a foil or parchment-lined baking sheet at 375 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size/weight of the squash. Set aside to cool.
- Peel the neck of the squash and cut into ½-inch cubes. In a stockpot, cook pancetta on medium heat to slowly render out the fat. This should take about 5-7 minutes and the pancetta should have darkened in color. Transfer the crispy pancetta to a small bowl and set aside.
- Without lowering the heat, add the onions and shallots to the pot and sauté in the rendered fat for a minute. Add garlic, leeks, and carrots and continue sauteing and tossing for about 3-4 minutes. Add the cubed squash and a few pinches of salt and pepper and continue cooking for about a minute.
- Stir in the chicken broth and roasted squash flesh. Toss in the bouquet garni of thyme, sage, parsley, and bay leaves tied together using kitchen twine. Bring the liquid to a boil and then lower to simmer for about 20 minutes. Optional: For some extra sage, you can toss in the two sage leaves from the roasted squash or save them to top the individual serving bowls.
- Turn off the heat and remove and discard the bouquet garni. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup in the stockpot until the soup is smooth and there are no lumps. Spoon into individual serving bowls and top each bowl with crispy pancetta, a spoonful of crème fraîche, and a pinch of fresh chives.
Notes
For Vegetarians and Vegans: . Ignore the stuff about the pancetta and just start sautéing your veggies in olive oil. Swap out the chicken broth for vegetable broth and, vegans, nix the crème fraîche and substitute with some coconut or cashew milk. If you want a bit more texture (since we’re not using pancetta), opt for toasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds.
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