My non-vegan friend Diane, who is a fabulous cook, served this soup at one of her dinner parties. Everyone was raving about it. The soup tastes really fresh and light and slightly sweet, thanks to the roasted apples. We all went home with a copy of the recipe, courtesy of Ina Garten. Ina’s soup has a chicken stock base, but it’s easy to substitute vegetable broth to make it vegan. Nowhere in her instructions does Ina mention that trying to peel and chop a butternut squash is like wrestling a bear. I found that it’s MUCH easier and there’s less swearing if you roast the squash first, and then peel it and chop it. (Instructions below.) This is a perfect fall soup and it’s fun to make on a Saturday afternoon while watching college football. Even when your team loses.

P.S. My friend Brie made this soup with 6 roasted sweet potatoes instead of the squash, and said it was the best thing she’s ever made. I will be trying that substitution this week!

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Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
 

Ingredients
  • 3 to 4 pounds butternut squash, peeled and seeded (about one large squash)
  • 2 yellow onions
  • 2 McIntosh apples, peeled and cored (I used Gala)
  • 3 tablespoons good olive oil
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 to 4 cups vegetable broth
  • ½ teaspoon good curry powder
Toppings
  • Chives or green onions, chopped
  • Flaked sweetened coconut, lightly toasted
  • Roasted salted cashews, toasted and chopped

Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
  2. Take the whole squash, pierce it several times with a fork and microwave it for a minute. Then slice it lengthwise and scoop out the pulp. Slice the two halves in half. Put the four quarters in a roasting pan and brush them with a tbsp of olive oil.
  3. Chop the onions and apples into 1-inch pieces. Place them on a sheet pan and toss them with 2 tbsp olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Put both pans in the oven and roast for 35 to 45 minutes, tossing the apples/onions occasionally, until very tender and a fork slides easily into the squash. Remove the pans from the oven, let the squash pieces cool completely, and then you can easily remove the outer peel and chop the squash.
  4. When the vegetables/apples have cooled, put half of them in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add one cup of the broth and puree. Pour this into a soup pot. Process the other half of vegetables/apples and another cup of broth. Pour this into the soup pot and add another 1-2 cups of broth to make a thick soup. Add the curry powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Taste for seasonings to be sure there’s enough salt and pepper to bring out the curry flavor. Reheat and serve hot with toppings.

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