Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup
This soup is autumn in a bowl. Blended with warming spices and slightly sweet, each bite makes me wish that butternut squash was in season all year long. Perhaps, though, it’s the seasonality of it that makes it just so delicious. It contains only vegetables and vegetable stock, and no heavy cream. That makes it a healthful, light sort of soup, and the squash when well blended transforms into a velvety texture. However, I like to swirl some cream on the top on occasion, as pictured. You can also add a bit to the whole pot of soup, if you fancy a butternut squash soup that sports a bit more richness. Carrots add a bit of flavor, substance, and color to the soup, but you may omit them if you don’t happen to have a few large ones on hand for a soup that focuses only on the squash.
Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup
1 butternut squash, halved and seeds discarded
4 large carrots, peeled and chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 sprigs of rosemary, leaves finely chopped
2 teaspoons honey
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
6 cups vegetable stock
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Cream, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds, for topping.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Rub the butternut squash with the olive oil and place cut side down on a baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the squash is very soft and starting to brown.
While the squash is roasting, heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the butter, then the carrots, onion, and rosemary. Sauté until the carrots are softened and the onion is translucent. Add the honey and spices and stir until fragrant, about one minute. Add the vegetable stock, and simmer until the squash is done roasting.
When the squash is cooked, scoop it all out of the skin and place into the pot with the vegetables and stock. Using an immersion blender, blend the vegetables, stock, and squash until the soup’s texture is smooth and velvety (you may also use a blender, working in batches and placing a towel over the top of the blender to allow steam to escape, returning the mixture to the pot when finished). Serve hot, drizzling the bowls with some cream if you like and topping with pumpkin and sunflower seeds for a bit of crunch.
