The Easiest Butternut Squash Soup

Lithuania has been a very intense crash course on eating seasonally. Even with the sun still doing its thing, I’ve noticed that butternut squash has finally come on the shelves. I’ve been dreaming of butternut squash soup for grocery trip after grocery trip. Small problem… my husband is not a fan. Luckily I looked in the freezer and realised he has enough work lunches for a shift cycle. I had to stop by the post office today so I decided to buy myself a butternut and go for it.

Ingredients

• Butternut Squash

• Ginger

• Dried Sage

• Dried Rosemary

• Stock - I used homemade

• Butter

• Salt

• Canola oil

• Apple Cider Vinegar

In the steps I’ve given some substitution ideas.

Halve the butternut squash and take out the gunk from the bulbous bit. Separate the seeds and spread oil on the butternut. Lightly salt it and roast at 180 degrees.

I roasted mine for about one episode of AHS, maybe an hour or so? You want it to be soft. I cut it a bit to make it cool faster.

I added a chunk of butter- probably more than I would usually add but it was the end of the pack- to a good-sized pot and let it melt a bit. I do not regret the extra butter. Fat is flavour so the goal here is to infuse the fat with all the delicious additions. I used butter because, well, it’s delicious, but you could easily sub this out for any of your preferred oils. More fat will give you a more indulgent end product but if you want to use less it’ll still be good.

I first added in my chunks of ginger. This mix is going in the blender so I wasn’t too fussed with chopping. I let that cook for a bit then added dried sage and rosemary.

You could use fresh of both these herbs, just add a bit more. I like very intense herbal flavours so I added quite a bit of both. If you hate one or both of these leave it out. Thyme, bay, parsley, or oregano would also taste amazing, as would garlic or chive. Curry powder and butternut are best friends, you could even add chorizo or bacon. The point of cooking is that you get exactly what you want so embrace the opportunity to personalise your meal.

I scooped the roasted squash away from the peel and into the blender. Apparently, butternut squash peel is edible and super healthy. I wanted a super classic what I was dreaming of soup today, but next time I make this I might throw it in to see if it makes any difference. I added my butter/ginger/herb mix into the blender.

I ended up needing 500 mL of water to make this blend well.

While that was cooling I added my frozen stock to the pot. If you’re using store-bought you can warm it up at this step or dissolve your stock cube.

At this point I turned my attention back to the seeds. I rinsed them, dried them, then added some canola oil and salt. I plunked them on the same baking paper I did the butternut on and popped them in the oven. They’ll roast while it cools down. They make a great soup topper but an even better snack.

After I got the seeds on and emptied my dishwasher the stock was mostly defrosted. I added quite a bit of salt because my stock didn’t have any. If you’re using store bought you probably won’t need more than a pinch or two, and if you’re using a stock cube I would honestly hold off on any salt at all right now. I added in a splash of apple cider vinegar though you could use white vinegar or even a splash of wine.

Seasoning with acid may sound really strange but it makes such a huge difference and is completely non optional.

I added my puree back in. I didn’t mind a few bits of herbage, but if it bugs you strain it through a sieve lined with a damp piece of cheesecloth.

I was going to let this simmer for a bit but it smelled so amazing I couldn’t wait. I cut myself some pieces of sourdough I made this morning and dug in.

I wanted to add cream to this but I forgot to buy it. Cheddar or a dollop of yoghurt would also be delicious. Word to the wise: if you intend to put some of this away to warm up another day leave your dairy out and add it to the individual portion when you warm it up. Most of the time dairy heats up perfectly fine but can make the entire process annoying as there’s always a chance it could split. Also, if you’re eating this multiple days in a row different add-ins and toppings can help defeat lunch boredom.

It was exactly what I’d been craving. It may be 26 degrees outside but there’s gold on the leaves and it’s autumn in my heart. Would I say this helped me embrace seasonality? Absolutely.

The next step for the day?

I’ve watched through Gilmore Girls once and even though I enjoyed it I’ve never rewatched it. It’s come up on too many fall watch lists to not pop it on right now for a good cup of tea and some knitting time.