Slightly modified version of Marci Stohon's recipe from allrecipes.com
We are fortunate for many things in our little borough in which we live. Beautiful attractions, great old houses, and lots of things to see and do. However, one of the things we really love about where we live is the people - our friends and neighbors. We are especially fortunate to have friends who share the ample bounty from their summer gardens. We have one such friend who always seems to have an abundance of butternut squash from her garden and we're always happy to do her "the favor" of taking some of the beauties off her hands.
Since the timing of the harvest it always seems to correspond with the wet and cold Fall and Winter Months, this recipe is particularly welcome to help combat the cold and rain that accompanies the changes in seasons. This one in particular helps take the chill off because the curry and cayenne provides a little residual heat (but not too overwhelming) that gives leaves your tummy and core warm inside. It's a filling soup, but certainly not heavy!
Try accompanying this soup with a nice plate of warmed naan or pitas to dip in the soup (and of course sop up the bottom of the bowl!!!).
As Always,
Best Regards and BonAppetIT!!!
TheITGourmet
Ingredients
1 large butternut squash (approximately 2 pounds when seeded) - washed, cut in ½ lengthwise, and seeded
Cinnamon (for roasting the butternut squash)
Extra virgin olive oil – ½ - 1 tablespoon for roasting the butternut squash plus 1 tablespoon for making the soup base (or canola oil can be substituted)
1 cup finely chopped onion
4 large cloves garlic, minced
4 cups low sodium chicken broth (but you could substitute low sodium vegetable broth
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons curry powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (use a little less if you’d like it less spicy, especially if your curry powder is on the hot side – TIP: If doubling the recipe – I would suggest not doubling the cayenne pepper)
½ cup Greek yogurt (I make my own InstantPot yogurt)
2 tablespoons honey
To garnish (for each serving)
A small dollop of Greek yogurt to taste (Optional), sour cream, or crème fraiche
Teaspoon of roasted / salted pumpkin seeds
¼ teaspoon crystalized ginger
A sprinkling of cinnamon
Directions
Step 1
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Wash the butternut squash, cut it in half lengthwise, and place cut site up on a baking sheet.
Brush the halves of squash with a little olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and a light sprinkling of cinnamon.
Place baking sheet in the oven and roast for 1 hour.
When the butternut squash is fully cooked (and nice and soft), remove from the oven and allow to cool until the squash is warm to the touch.
Using a large spoon, carefully scoop out the roasted squash into bowl.
Step 2
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot (I like to use a 3 – 4 quart oval cast iron Dutch oven) over medium heat.
Cook and stir onion and garlic in hot oil until softened and is just starting to turn color, 10 to 15 minutes. TIP: I like to add a little water (about ¼ cup) while the onions are cooking to make sure the garlic doesn’t burn and the onions get nice and soft.
Stir broth, cooked squash, curry powder, salt, cumin, and cayenne pepper into the onion / garlic mixture.
Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
Stir yogurt and honey into the squash soup mixture.
Place back onto the heat and heat for another 5 mins (you want to heat, but not simmer / boil the soup at this time).
Remove from heat.
Step 3
Carefully pour the cooked squash soup into a blender no more than half full (trust me, you DO NOT want to scald yourself with piping hot soup due to a blender that blew it’s top). Cover the blender and hold the lid down with a kitchen towel; pulse the mixture a few times before leaving on for about 15 seconds to blend. Puree in batches until creamy smooth. I’m fortunate to have a stick blender – you can also blend the soup with one of those.
To Serve
Ladle the soup into serving bowls and top with a small dollop of Greek yogurt (I like to stir the yogurt a bit to make it smooth), sour cream, or crème fraiche.
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