Squash Hunger with My Butternut Squash Soup!

I have a love-hate relationship with butternut squash. I LOVE the way it tastes. I HATE peeling it.

But when I see the heavy Fall squashes at the farmers market, I just can’t resist. Home they come and on the counter they sit until I work up enough will to peel those suckers. But in the meantime, I can imagine all the cinnamony soup I’ll make and how I’ll coat the seeds with sea salt and toast them until they’re crunchy.

So how to prepare the squash for soup? Here’s some tips:

• Trim the tops and bottoms off and separate the necks from the rounder bottom part.
• Take the rounder bottom part and cut it in half. Scoop the seeds and pulp out (you can save the seeds for soup garnish or just to snack on like pumpkin seeds!)
• Poke each piece with a fork (like you mean it!) and microwave for 8 minutes. Cool enough to handle.
• Either with your peeler or knife, peel the skin off.
• Dice into pieces.

I’ve made this soup several times and have perfected this recipe to exactly how I like it: it’s a little thicker than an average soup (if you like thinner, just add more stock), it has a creamy texture, and the cinnamon flavor screams Fall. I like adding a little sour cream on top which cools down the hot soup, as well as some of the roasted, salted squash seeds to add some another layer of texture.

Ingredients:
2 peeled butternut squash, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 granny smith apple, chopped
4 tablespoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Divide the butternut squash, onion, apple and cinnamon between two sheet pans, spray thoroughly with non-stick spray (I like coconut oil spray), and sprinkle with the cinnamon and salt. Bake for 20 minutes or until fork-soft.

Transfer the roasted fruit and vegetables into a large heavy bottom soup pan for with the chicken stock and black pepper and simmer on low-medium heat for one hour (this can also be done in the crock pot).

Using an immersion blender, blend together the contents of the pan. Simmer on low for an additional hour.

Yield: 6 servings