Roasted Herb Butternut Squash Soup

A hearty warm soup for those cold winters. This soup is incredibly simple and with just a few ingredients packs a ton of flavor.

Yield: Serves 3-4

Difficulty Level: Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: approx. 65 minutes

Ingredients

1 medium to large butternut squash, halved, then each half halved again. Leave peel on and remove seeds from the two halves with a spoon

1 ½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

3-4 sprigs of fresh rosemary

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, diced

1 inch fresh ginger, diced

1 32 oz chicken stock

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425F. Place the squash pieces on a baking sheet and sprinkle with half the salt and all the black pepper evenly across all 4 squash pieces, drizzle half the olive oil, and rub evenly with your hands. Remove the rosemary from the sprigs and sprinkle over all the pieces. Place the squash in the oven and bake for about 40-45 minutes. When roasted through, remove from oven, and let it cool enough to work with.

When the squash has cooled enough, separate out the flesh from the peel with a fork. Don’t rush through this step; otherwise, you might pick up the softened peel with the flesh.

Heat the remaining oil in a medium saucepan on medium-high. Add the onions and cook for about 2-3 minutes until soft and translucent. A little browning is good as it will add flavor, but be sure not to burn it. Next, add the garlic and ginger and cook another 1 minute, ensuring the garlic does not burn.

Add the cooked squash and mix well so it is combined with the onions, garlic, and ginger. Add the chicken stock, mix, and let it come to a boil.

Reduce heat and blend it all together with an immersion *blender until there are no more lumps and the soup is silky smooth. Bring back to a light boil for a few minutes before turning off heat. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil for that extra silky rich feel.

*This can also be blended together in a regular blender. Allow it to cool a little bit before blending, and blend in batches if needed. Without letting it cool a little the liquid will burst and splatter everywhere from the blender due to the heat of the liquid.