Roasted Butternut Squash Soup pairs squash and sweet potatoes with cream, sherry and a cornucopia of spices with just a touch of heat.
Prep Time45 minutesmins
Cook Time1 hourhr30 minutesmins
Servings: 8
Author: Adapted from Kay Miller's Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
2poundsbutternut squashhalved and seeded
2tablespoonsbutter
1medium onionsliced (use sweet if available)
1leekwhite and light green section sliced
2clovesgarlicminced
6-8cupschicken broth
2large sweet potatoes peeled and quartered
1/8teaspooncayenne pepper
1/8teaspoonground allspice
1/8teaspoonground nutmeg
1/8teaspoonginger
salt & pepper to taste
1/2cupsherry wine
1cuphalf & half
whipping cream for drizzlingoptional
snipped chivesoptional
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pour a thin layer of water into a baking dish and place squash halves cut side down in dish. Bake for about 40-55 minutes, or until fork can easily pierce the flesh. Cool slightly, then remove peel (I find it's easiest to scoop squash out of the skin.) Set squash aside.
Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, leek and garlic and sauté for a few minutes, until tender. Pour 6 cups of chicken broth into the pot. Add the potatoes, and bring to a boil. Cook for about 20-25 minutes, or until soft. Add the squash and mash with the potatoes until chunks are small. Use an immersible hand blender to puree the soup, or transfer to a food processor and puree in batches until smooth. Return to the pot.
Season the soup with cayenne, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, salt and pepper, then stir in the sherry and half & half. Based on your preference you can stir in all or part of the additional 2 cups of broth to reach desired consistency (I prefer a soup that it not overly thick, so I used the full 2 cups and still found the soup to be fairly thick.) Heat through, but do not boil. Ladle into bowls and drizzle with whipping cream and sprinkle with snipped chives.
Notes
Note - I have substituted Marsala and Port for Sherry in this recipe, and they all work well, but each imparts its own unique flavor. I did notice that using Ruby Port made the soup look browner vs pale orange. But it still tasted wonderful!