By ShowMeStepByStepPublished
Based on a video by Downshiftology.
Most butternut squash soup recipes start with peeling and dicing a raw squash, which is the worst part of the job. Lisa Bryan of Downshiftology skips it entirely. Halve the squash, roast it face down, and the flesh scoops straight out of the skin with a spoon.
Roasting does something else too. It concentrates the sugars, which is why this version needs no cream to taste rich. Half a tablespoon of maple syrup, a quarter teaspoon each of nutmeg and ground ginger, and a couple of cloves of garlic are the whole seasoning list.
An hour of that is oven time you can walk away from. If you want more soups, the site has tomato soup, french onion soup and broccoli cheddar soup. Save the seeds you scoop out - they roast into a snack.
8 steps · about 5 minutes.Check off each step as you go and your progress saves automatically.
Preheat the oven to 425F. Slice the ends off a 3.5 to 4 pound butternut squash so it has two flat surfaces, then stand it upright and cut down through the middle.
Winter squash is dense and a dull knife will skate off it. Sharpen yours first and use a slow rocking motion rather than trying to force the blade through.
Tip
The halves do not need to be even. Lisa's are noticeably lopsided here and they roast fine. Watch this step
Run a spoon around the cavity to lift out the seeds and the stringy membrane. It comes away in one or two passes.
Keep the seeds. Rinsed, dried and roasted with a little salt, they turn into the same snack you get from a pumpkin.
Tip
A metal spoon with a thin edge scrapes cleaner than a rounded plastic one. An ice cream scoop works well too. Watch this step
Drizzle avocado oil over the exposed flesh and rub it in with your fingers so the whole surface is coated. Sprinkle on salt and pepper.
Avocado oil handles 425F without smoking. Olive oil will work but sits closer to its smoke point at this temperature.
Tip
Fingers beat a brush here. You can feel the dry patches the oil has not reached. Watch this step
Flip the halves so the cut side faces the tray, slide them into the oven and set a timer for 30 minutes.
Face down traps the steam against the flesh. That is what makes it soft enough to scoop rather than leathery on top.
Tip
The skin will wrinkle and brown. That is the sign it is going well, not a sign it is burning. Watch this step
When the first 30 minutes are up, halve a small onion, coat it with oil and add it to the tray cut side down. Set the timer for another 30 minutes.
The tray comes out hot after the hour. Roasted onion brings a sweetness raw onion cannot, and doing it on the same tray means no extra pan.
Tip
The onion only needs half the time. Adding it at the start would leave it scorched by the end. Watch this step
Once it is cool enough to handle, run a large spoon between the flesh and the skin. It should be buttery soft and lift away with no resistance.
Slip the papery skin off the onion halves and drop those into the blender too.
Tip
If the spoon meets resistance anywhere, that part needed longer in the oven. Put the tray back for another ten minutes. Watch this step
Into the blender go two cloves of garlic, half a tablespoon of maple syrup, a teaspoon of sea salt, a quarter teaspoon of nutmeg and a quarter teaspoon of ground ginger. Add three cups of vegetable broth to start, plus two tablespoons of butter if you want it richer.
Blend for several minutes, long enough that the soup comes out hot. Check the consistency, then add the last cup of broth if it is thicker than you want.
Tip
Start at three cups of broth, not four. Thin soup cannot be un-thinned, but thick soup takes thirty seconds to fix. Watch this step
Pour the soup into bowls. Scatter a handful of pepitas over the top, add a sprinkle of roughly chopped parsley and finish with cracked black pepper.
The pepitas matter more than they look. A smooth blended soup with nothing on top eats the same in every mouthful, and the seeds give it some crunch.
Tip
Leftovers thicken in the fridge. Loosen them with a splash of broth rather than water so you do not dilute the flavour. Watch this step
Keep going
How to Bake Salmon in the Oven (Lemon Garlic Butter)
8 steps · about 7 minutes
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