Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

I've always been a soup kind of girl. Even growing up, me and my middle sister would fight over leftover soup. My little sister on the other hand despised them and when I mentioned soup while she was visiting she curled up her nose which told me she still didn't care for them. Needless to say, we did not have soup or stew while she was visiting. My immediate family though loves a good bowl just as much as I do, and we make a dinner quite often out of it. With a salad or a sandwich on the side, soup can be a quick and quite satisfying meal.

I've tried to make various squash soups in the past, but only to lukewarm reviews from the family, so when I came across the recipe for this roasted butternut squash soup on Tasty Kitchen I wasn't sure how well it would be received. I guess I worried for nothing. This soup turned out wonderful and I only made a few small changes to accommodate our families taste. The soup starts by peeling and dicing a butternut squash and roasting it in the oven along with a celery, carrot, onions and garlic. After about 20 minutes, a couple of peeled and cut up apples are added to the mix and the roasting continues for another 15 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.

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The finished roasted vegetables are added to a food processor and are mixed with a couple of cups of chicken or vegetable broth until smooth or the desired consistency is reached. Add honey, sage, salt and pepper and pulse until combined. Meanwhile, bacon gets cooked in a Dutch oven until crisp. The bacon is removed from the pan and drained on a paper towel. All but 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease are drained from the pot and finally the blended vegetable puree is added to the Dutch oven with two more cups of broth. At this point, add more broth until the soup reaches the desired thickness (adding more broth for a thinner soup, or less if you like it on the thicker side). Simmer the dish for another 5 minutes making sure to taste one more time for salt and pepper.

I served this soup drizzled with sour cream and sprinkled with the reserved bacon and pepitas (roasted pumpkin seeds). Trader Joe's sells a good sized bag of pepitas for a decent price, or you can just make your own. A great fall flavored soup that was incredibly rich and tasty. My husband, kids and I loved this recipe, and I know I will be making this soup several more times this season. The soup made the perfect accompaniment to toasted cheese sandwiches, and the leftovers were just as tasty the next day! This recipe would also be a lovely addition for a soup course on Thanksgiving, so be sure to give this one a try!

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
(adapted from Tasty Kitchen)
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 pound Butternut squash, halved and seeded, cut into large cubes
1 carrot, cut into large chunks
1 stalk celery, cut into large chunks
2 medium onions, cut into eights
3 cloves garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and Pepper
2 whole medium apples, peeled, cored and cut into eights
4-6 cups vegetable or chicken broth, divided
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon dried sage
6 slices bacon, diced
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Sour Cream (optional garnish)
Pepitas (optional garnish)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Peel and cut squash into large cubes. Place cubes into a large roasting pan. Add carrot pieces, celery, onion, and garlic. Drizzle with olive oil and add a good pinch of salt. Toss to coat and roast for 20 minutes in the oven. Add the apple pieces to the roasting pan and stir to combine. Return to the oven and roast for an additional 15 minutes or until vegetables are soft.

Add vegetable mixture to a food processor and blend with 2 cups of broth until desired consistency is reached. Add honey, sage, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Pulse to combine. Set aside.

Cook diced bacon in a Dutch oven or heavy saucepan over medium-high heat until crisp. Transfer cooked bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Remove all but 2 tablespoons of bacon fat from the Dutch oven. Add the vegetable puree and two cups of broth (at this point you can add up to two more cups of broth depending on the consistency you are looking for). Taste for salt and pepper and let the soup simmer for 5 minutes.

Serve sprinkled with crisp cooked bacon, sour cream and pepitas.