Roasted and Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Roasted and Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Roasted and Curried Butternut squash served with warm toasted bread (Asiago cheese bread here)

Come fall and the weather starts to get chilly, it is time for soups! I have been eyeing the butternut squash for quite a while now. Somehow, it has been eluding me, maybe the huge size of the squash or my mere ignorance on the squash’s versatility.
So I finally bought home a 3 lb squash, only to let it sit on the counter for about 2 weeks! I just couldn’t get over my reluctance to explore. I have never much indulged in incorporating the various squashes in my palate, except maybe pumpkin or zucchini.
So I researched on different recipes utilizing butternut squash. Apparently, this particular squash is extremely versatile! It could be roasted, pureed, steamed, grilled, baked- just about any cooking method! I decided to go with roasting and pureeing them into a smooth, creamy soup. Mind you, I’ve never had butternut squash soup before!

Butternut squash has a pale orange peel and the flesh is a surprising deep orange! It tastes nutty and sweet-almost like sweet potatoes. You guys, you must definitely try this amazingly easy, simple and flavorful soup. A bowlful filled me up!

Ingredients
1 butternut squash, about 3-5lbs (should yield 3-4 cups, cooked)
1 cup milk (I used 2%)
1/2 cup water
1 medium onion, diced
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp olive oil (or butter)
1-1½ tsp cumin+coriander powder (or just cumin powder, if you don’t have coriander powder)
Salt as needed
Fresh coarsely ground pepper, 1 tsp

Note on Coriander powder: Coriander seeds are the dried fruits of the coriander/cilantro plant. The seeds are very flavorful, a mix of lemon peel and sage. They have numerous health benefits from anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic among others.

Pre-heat over to 400F. Cut the squash length-wise, scoop out the seeds and the fibrous threads. Spray the exposed flesh with cooking spray and roast in the oven, cut side down for about 45min. Let it cool and scoop out the flesh with a spoon.

In a blender (or immersion blender), puree the squash. Add some water if needed to ease the pureeing. Heat the oil a deep saucepan on medium heat. Once hot, add the garlic and sauté for 1 min. Now add the diced onion and sauté for about 3-5min until tender. Add the cumin-coriander powder and sauté until fragrant, for about 1 min.

Now add the pureed squash, salt and pepper. Add a cup of milk (for creaminess). You could skip this altogether. Add some water if the soup is very thick. Stir well and let it simmer on medium heat for about 8-10min. Taste for salt. Remove from stove and serve with bread, right away!
This soup could be frozen for up to 3 months as well.

See how thick it is!!

Variation:
Try flavoring the soup with garam masala or fresh Italian herbs like sage or thyme or just salt and pepper. You could also cook the squash until tender in the pan instead of roasting them.

You could add a cup of heavy cream or half and half for a creamier soup.