At Sprouts tonight I was very successfully marketed to by the huge fall display of colorful squashes. As soon as I saw them I could taste the sweet, hearty flesh of a season roasted squash. I knew at that point that a squash soup was in my very near future.
I couldn’t decide between them all, because they were all so unique and beautiful, so I grabbed a few different varieties and a bunch of carrots for some added depth. On the drive home I formulated my game plan so that I didn’t waste time once I was in the door. I needed soup in my facehole…STAT!
I was so greedily anticipating that first buttery, velvety bowl, and too impatient to let the roasted squashes cool, that I burned my friggin’ finger tips off trying to the peel the damn things. They were too hot for even my asbestos fingers…
I may have destroyed the nerve endings in my finger tips, but it was well worth it!
- 3 pounds whole butternut squash (about 2 medium or 1 large), halved lengthwise and seeds removed
- 1 acorn squash halved and seeds removed
- 8 carrots peeled and trimmed
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
- 3 cups of water
- 2 teaspoons garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
- 1 cup sour cream (for vegan soup use 1 cup almond milk in place of sour cream).
- 1/2 cup toasted sunflower seeds for garnish
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees with the rack in the middle of the oven.
- Line baking sheets with aluminum foil. Place the squash pieces and carrots cut-side up on the baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Season generously with garlic salt and pepper. Roast until knife tender, about 50 minutes to 1 hour depending on your oven. Remove carrots from oven after 30 minutes or once fork tender.
- Cool the squash and scoop out the inside into large stock pot discarding the skins. Add roasted carrots.
- Add the broth, water, salt and pepper to the squash and carrots, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and using an immersion blender, blend until the soup is a creamy consistency. Then stir in the sour cream. Taste and season with salt, pepper and cayenne as needed. Garnish with pumpkin or sunflower seeds and a sprinkle of cayenne.