Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Turmeric & Sage: Cozy Fall Recipe

As I write this post the temperature outside is hovering around 82 degrees, however, fall is quickly approaching and that means - all things butternut squash! Try this super simple and nourishing Butternut Squash Soup recipe.  

Equipment:

• Sheet pan

• Medium stock pot

• Small frying pan

• Immersion blender or regular blender 

  
  

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 (3lb) Butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise, seeded, and then cut into quarters think wedges (for roasting)

• ½ teaspoon of salt

• 1 onion, chopped

• 1 stalk of celery, chopped

• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped

• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric

• 1 teaspoon of cardamom (substitute cinnamon if you do not have cardamom)

• 1 teaspoon of dried sage

• 1 teaspoon Fresh ground pepper 

• 1 quart of chicken bone broth (use vegetable stock for vegetarian) You may want a little extra broth to thin out soup to your preferred consistency. 

• ¼ Cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds) for serving, toasted

• Greek yogurt for serving

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees

2. Rinse off squash and then cut in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Cut the halves into quarters (think wedges) and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper and spread evenly on a sheet pan. This is an extra step but adds so much to the flavor of soup. * Roast for 30 minutes or until squash is tender with a fork. Maybe take up to 45 minutes depending on your oven. You can do this step ahead of time as well. 

3. Prep other vegetables (onion, garlic, carrot & celery) and add remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil to stock pot and heat on medium. Add onion to pot and cook for about 7 minutes until soft and translucent. Add celery and carrots and cook for another 7-10 minutes until veggies are mostly cooked through and add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. 

4. Add spices (turmeric, cardamon, sage, ground pepper) and stir to coat veggies then add stock. Let simmer until you have a gentle rolling bubble in the liquid. (10 minutes) 

5. Dry Toast pepitas in a small frying pan until fragrant (about 6 minutes) Keep checking on these little guys!

6. Once the Squash is cooked through, remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes. (Cool enough to touch)

7. Scrape flesh of squash away from the skin and add to the stock pot. 

8. Heat everything together for another 20 minutes (gentle simmer) and then remove from heat and let cool completely. Blend with the immersion blender until smooth. 

9. Once soup is cooled, taste it and adjust seasoning to your liking. 

10. Serve with a dollop of yogurt of your choice and a sprinkle of pepitas. 

Enjoy!