Roasted Winter Squash Soup [recipe]

After roasting and pureeing the Blue Hubbard Squash we have plenty to make a winter soup that we love and keep on the meal planning rotation all winter long.  This is my double batch recipe for a big crowd or for making once and freezing for lunches and dinners when we’re short on time or don’t want to cook.  This simple recipe honors the flavor of whatever squash you choose and is so yummy after a long day outside shoveling snow or as a side dish to a larger meal. 

That rich, golden, orange color is helpful to see this time of year when the nights are so long.  We may just have it for dinner on solstice!

 

 

Roasted Winter Squash Soup

Ingredients

• 7 pounds of winter squash roasted, (or roughly a third of the hubbard squash), or about 96 ounces of roasted pureed Blue hubbard squash
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 scant Tablespoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper to taste
• 4 cloves of garlic chopped or diced
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1 ½ cups diced carrots
• 1 ½ cups diced celery
• 12 cups homemade chicken stock or low sodioum chicken broth
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• ½ cup chopped walnuts (or pecans, or hazelnuts)
• 4 Tablespoons of butter

Procedure

1. After roasting the squash and pureeing it, set aside about 96 ounces of puree.

 

2. Heat the oil in a large heavy bottomed pot and add the carrots, celery, onion and cook until they soften.

3. Add the garlic and let that cook until you can smell it cooking but so it doesn’t burn.

4. Add the squash puree and stir in the pot.

5. Add the stock to the pot and mix well.  Bring the pot to a boil.  When it boils, reduce the heat to low and let the soup simmer until the flavors come together and that should be about 20-30 minutes.

6. Using an immersion blender, or in small batches in a food processor or blender, puree the soup to a smooth texture.  

7. This is a large batch of soup so if you are not hosting a Solstice party or feeding 20 people, let it come to room temperature and then refrigerate in portions that suit your family’s needs.  

8. Reheat the soup on low on a stovetop stirring in up to a ¼ cup of maple syrup to taste and if you need a lovely garnish…Ladle the soup into bowls and add a sprinkling of toasted nuts on top!

9. Toasted nuts:  With a small skillet over medium heat, add 4 tablespoons of butter and let it cook with ¼  cup of chopped walnuts stirrring and cooking for 4-5 minutes. Add the nuts to each bowl and serve with side salad, or a big hunk of crusty sourdough for dunking.