It's soup season and this recipe will be sure to tantalize your taste buds.
Fall is in full swing, days are getting shorter, air is getting cooler and soup season is upon us. This time of year all I want to do is curl up with a warm bowl of soup and watch trashy TV on Netflix. This roasted buttercup squash and red pepper soup is delightfully rich with a perfect combination of sweet and savoury.
Score some squash
This is the perfect time to pick up a freshly harvested buttercup squash from your local farmer's market, or better yet from your own garden. Squash store very well so go ahead and stock up because this won't be the last time you make this soup!
Boom, roasted.
Start with your buttercup squash. Slice the squash in fourths and scoop out the seeds on the inside. If you're extra ambitious, remove the seeds from the slimy insides and set aside to soak in water before toasting them in the oven later as a snack - it's totally worth the extra effort.
Place the squash pieces on a baking sheet, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and add a pinch of ground sea salt a freshly cracked black pepper. Stick the squash in the oven to soften while you move on to the next bit.
Slice a yellow onion in half, cutting the ends off each half and removing the skin. Slice down almost to the bottom of the onion without cutting all the way through both horizontally and vertically across the onion - this will allow the onion to remain intact while roasting evenly. Take your red pepper and slice them in fourths, deceding them and setting aside. Grab a head of garlic, peel away the loose paper while leaving the cloves intact. Slice off about a quarter of an inch of the top of the garlic head, drizzle with olive oil and wrap in tin foil.
Remove the squash from the oven and add the red pepper, onion and head of garlic to the pan, drizzling the onion and red pepper in olive oil. Add a generous helping of your favourite spices to the veggies, mine include; curry, chili powder, paprika and cinnamon for this recipe. Put the pan back in the oven and continue roasting for approximately 45 minutes.
Soups on!
Once the veggies are sufficiently roasted, remove the pan from the oven and allow them to cool enough to handle comfortably. As veggies are cooling, add vegetable stock to a dutch oven. Sometimes for a little added flavour I add boiling water and soup bouillon to the stock. Keep the lid on and heat the stock over medium heat while you move on to the next bit.
Once the squash is cool enough to handle take a spoon and scoop out the squash. Add the squash, red pepper, onion and roasted garlic to the soup stock and stir. Let the veggies and stock simmer in the covered dutch oven for 20 minutes. At this point I add dried thyme, nutmeg and crushed chili peppers.
Blend and serve.
After the soup has simmered remove from heat and let cool. Once cool, take your immersion blender and blend the vegetables and soup stock until mostly smooth. When serving, add a dollop of plain greek yogurt, chopped fresh basil and some arugula for added texture and colour. Enjoy!
Prep-time: 30 minutes | Cook-time: 80 minutes | Clean-up time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
2 buttercup squash
2 red peppers
1 yellow onion
1 head of garlic
4 cups vegetable stock
1 cup boiling water
1 package of soup bouillon
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp crushed chili pepper flakes
Garnish
dollop of plain greek yogurt
chopped fresh basil
handful of arugula
Instructions
Preheat oven to 450 F
Chop and deseed buttercup squash
Drizzle with olive oil and add a pinch of salt and pepper
Roast for 15 minutes
Slide red peppers in fourth and onion in half
Peel garlic and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper
Remove buttercup squash from the oven and add red pepper, onion and garlic head to pan
Drizzle red pepper and onion with olive oil
Dust the veggies with curry powder, chili powder, paprika and cinnamon
Roast veggies for 45 minutes
Remove the veggies and let cool
Add vegetable stock, boiling water and bouillon to dutch oven and heat over medium
Take a spoon and scoop the squash from its peel
Add the veggies to the stock, cover and simmer for 25 minutes
Remove from heat and blend with immersion blender
Garnish with a dollop of greek yogurt, fresh dropped basil and arugula
Enjoy!
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