Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
America's autumn favourite: oven-roasted butternut squash blended with sweet onion and stock into a velvety soup, finished with a splash of cream and maple.
Method
Preheat the oven to 200 °C for , with a rack in the middle. Meanwhile prepare the squash: cut off both ends, stand it up and peel it with a vegetable peeler, then halve it lengthwise and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Cut the flesh into 2 cm cubes. The squash is slippery, so always keep a flat cut side down on the board while you cut.
ovenPut the squash on a 30×20 cm baking tray, add half the olive oil, half the salt, half the pepper and the thyme sprigs, and toss with your hands until every cube is shiny. Spread it in a single layer with space between the pieces; crowded squash steams instead of browning. Roast in the oven for , turning once halfway, until a knife slides in easily and the edges are golden brown.
Add in this stepButternut squash, peeled and seeded (prepared weight) 550 gOlive oil ¾ tbspSalt 0.4 tspBlack pepper 1 pinchFresh thyme sprigs 2
ovenWhile the squash roasts, melt the butter with the rest of the oil in a 20 cm pot over medium heat. Peel and thinly slice the onion and garlic. Cook the onion for , stirring often, until soft and see-through but not brown, adding the garlic for the last minute.
Add in this stepButter 15 gOlive oil ¾ tbspOnion 1Garlic cloves 2
medium heatPull the thyme stems off the tray and tip the roasted squash into the pot, scraping in the browned bits too, since they carry the most flavour. Pour in the stock and add the nutmeg. Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn down to medium-low heat and simmer gently for , until the squash falls apart when pressed against the side of the pot.
Add in this stepVegetable stock (or chicken stock) 600 mlGround nutmeg 1 pinch
high heat→medium-low heatTake the pot off the heat and blend the soup with a stick blender for , until completely smooth and velvety. If you use a countertop blender, let the soup cool for 5 minutes first, fill the jug only halfway, take the small cap out of the lid and hold a folded towel over the hole; hot soup can blow the lid off.
Put the pot back over low heat and stir in three-quarters of the cream, the maple syrup and the rest of the salt. Warm through for without letting it boil. Taste: it should be gently sweet and well seasoned. If it is too thick, add a splash of water; if too thin, simmer a few minutes longer.
Add in this stepHeavy cream 38 mlMaple syrup 1 tspSalt 0.4 tsp
low heatLadle into warm bowls, drizzle the remaining cream over in a swirl and finish with the rest of the pepper. Serve hot with crusty bread.
Add in this stepHeavy cream 13 mlBlack pepper 1 pinch
Cook's tip
Choose a squash that feels heavy for its size with matte, unblemished skin. Peeled, cubed squash from the supermarket saves the hardest step. The soup thickens as it sits; thin it with a little stock when reheating. It keeps 3 days in the fridge and freezes well before the cream is added.
Cooking it at camp
Peel and cube the squash at home. At camp, brown the cubes with the oil in a lidded pot over the burner for 10 minutes, then add the onion and stock and simmer until very soft. Instead of blending, mash hard with a potato masher or fork for a rustic, chunky soup, then stir in the cream.