Roasted Butternut Squash Carrot Soup

What can I say about butternut squash?  It’s delicious, good for you, inexpensive, and incredibly difficult to cut.  I did not discover how much I liked butternut squash until about 4 or 5 years ago. I had no idea what I was missing!  Now, every fall I look forward to loading up on them at the Farmer’s Market.  In addition to being delicious, they’re inexpensive in season and last for a long time on the counter!

The last time I went to the Farmer’s Market, I scored a giant butternut squash for a measly $2!  I didn’t weigh it, but trust me when I tell you this thing was huge.  For the past few years, I have been making an amazing butternut squash soup that starts with some Italian Sausage, has a ton of veggies, and ends up in a deliciously smooth pureed soup.  This year, I wanted to try something different.  Since everything I eat and drink these days seems to revolve around lactation, I decided to try some butternut squash carrot soup, since carrots are good for lactation.  Did you know that?  Although, I’m not sure how much benefit they provide when they are cooked to oblivion in this soup, but it’s still really tasty!

So I went with my basic soup framework –  carrots (of course…I already said it was carrot soup), onions, celery, garlic, and chicken stock.   I roasted the behemoth, I mean butternut squash, (Remember how I said it’s really hard to cut?  Well, the way I roast it you only have to cut it in half, and then you scoop out the roasted flesh later!  So easy!) along with some carrots and added them to the soup.  Often, carrot soup is flavored with ginger, and since I had a part of a ginger root in the freezer, I went with it.  Finally, I added just a touch of coconut milk for some extra creaminess (and because I had it in the fridge) but you could definitely leave it out and it will still be creamy and delicious.

The soup turned out great!  You can subtly taste the squash, carrots, and ginger all complimenting each other over the flavorful base of the stock that makes the soup taste like it cooked all day.  It was really easy to put together, too.  Just a little bit of chopping is the extent of the prep work.  Most of the “prep” was in time invested in waiting for the squash and carrots to roast.  The soup gets pureed with an immersion blender and ends up this wonderful velvety texture.  Perfect with some grainy, crusty bread for dipping!

So the next cool fall day when you’re craving soup, give this one a try!  It also freezes wonderfully, so make a big batch and enjoy it a couple of times.

Roasted Butternut Squash Carrot Soup

Ingredients:

• ½ of a large or one small roasted butternut squash (about 4 cups of roasted squash)
• 8 medium sized carrots
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 rib of celery, chopped
• 1-2 teaspoons of fresh grated ginger
• pinch of allspice (to taste)
• 6 cups of chicken stock
• 1/3 cup of coconut milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

To roast the squash, cut it in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds.  Drizzle the cut sides with extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Put cut side up on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Turn over and bake for about another 30 minutes, or until the squash gives when you squeeze it with tongs.

Peel and chop carrots into large chunks.  Lightly drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Halfway through the squash roasting, add the carrots to the baking sheet.

Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat.  Add the onions and celery, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 5-6 minutes, until they begin to soften.  Add garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes, being careful not to burn the garlic.  Add the stock, squash, carrots, ginger, and allspice and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes.   Puree with immersion blender (or in batches in a regular blender) until completely smooth.  Stir in coconut milk.

Serve with crusty bread for dipping.

Enjoy!