Roasted Butternut Squash

My son has asked, “Mom, why do you turn everything into soup?” The answer? I don’t know. It could be that some mornings when it is cold, I like the idea of something warm and simple for supper. Could be I like the idea of turning the crock pot on and walking away. Could be I just love a big bowl of flavor and something like a hearty bread or handful of crackers.

Butternut Squashes Ready to Roast!

Could be some days, chewing seems like an effort. No, I didn’t just share that. Yes I did. Bring on the smooth foods. Dear Lord, it’s a long day when I put stuff like that in writing. Don’t judge.

However, here in the midst of Autumn, (Today it’s in the 70’s…) Something as beautiful and colorful as butternut squash begs to be made. Again, simple is the plan here. So stay with me. You’ve got this.

This is a soup that can be made at one time, or prepped before and then assembled later. Step one: Roast your butternut squash in the oven. This is achieved by splitting the squash, scooping out the seeds, then placing the squash face down in a pan and baking in the oven for about an hour. You want this cooked completely through and easy to mash. If it takes more than an hour, that’s ok too. I let mine cool before peeling the skin off, and then mash the cooked flesh into a bowl.

Here is where I prep ahead of time; I roast, peel, and mash the squash, then place the final product in the refrigerator until I am ready to make the soup. You can do this up to a few days before you assemble the soup.

To make the soup, saute half of a diced onion and one cup of diced pancetta in the bottom of a stock pot. Cook this until the pancetta is crisped up and the onion is soft and translucent. Add your cooked butternut squash, and 32-64 ounces of chicken stock, depending on how thick you like your soup. I used 32 ounces for my version, which resembles a very hearty, thick orange soup. It is absolutely everything you would expect a fall soup to be.

Now, I have been asked about when I say “add your spices.” What I assume (I’m learning not to assume…) is that everyone has their own spice arsenal that he/she prefers. Some people like exact. So, here goes: for this, I use a combination of salt, pepper, garlic powder (scant) to taste. You can bang out all sorts of spices for this. Nutmeg, cinnamon, sage, curry, you could really jazz this up. You could also make this vegetarian and not use pancetta or chicken stock. That’s the beauty of cooking, you make it your own.

If you did a thorough job mashing your squash before adding to the soup, you won’t need an immersion blender, but if you feel it needs it, blend this baby up. It is so good. I serve this soup with a garnish of pepitas, or shelled pumpkin seeds.

This soup is glorious in color and rich in flavor and makes you feel good. If a supper is beautiful and tasty and simple, and chewing is optional? Life is good. I did, I did just say that.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table!

Chrissy

Click below for a printable recipe!

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Print Recipe

• 1-2 Butternut Squashes (Depending on how much soup you would like to make)
• 1/2 Sweet Onion, Diced
• 1 Cup Cubed Pancetta
• 24-48 Ounces of Chicken Stock
• Salt, Pepper, and Garlic (to taste)

• Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

1. Preheat Oven to 350*
2. Cut squash in half, remove seeds, and place squash cut side down onto baking sheet.
3. Cook until squash is tender and roasted, at least 60 minutes.
4. Allow squash to cool. Peel the skin, and mash flesh completely.
5. In a stockpot, saute onion and pancetta until pancetta is crisp and onion is translucent.
6. Add squash, salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and stir.
7. Add Chicken Stock to desired consistency.
8. Bring soup to a simmer to allow ingredients and flavor to combine.
9. Spoon individual servings and top with pepitas.