Velvet Winter Squash Soup
a rich and velvety smooth squash soup that is perfect for Fall and Winter months! Makes 8 servings (15 cups/one 6 quart crock pot) – I only make big pots of soup!! If you want 4 servings, use 1 large or 2 smaller winter squashes and cut the remaining ingredients in half.
Equipment
- 1 Blender or immersion blender
- 1 Baking pan
- 1 Sauté pan
- 1 Large saucepan or Dutch oven
Ingredients
- 3 medium/large Buttercup Winter Squash Not to be confused with buttercup – see photo! Buttercup squash can easily be used in this recipe, but you will not have the can easily be used in this recipe, but you will not have the same rich, “velvet” texture and flavor.
- 2 medium Yellow onions diced
- 10-12 cloves Garlic One of my go-to time-saving kitchen tips is to keep a bag of fresh, peeled garlic cloves in my freezer at all times. In recipes like this, tossing in whole, frozen garlic cloves is a time-saver as they are going to be blended up with everything anyway and will thaw quickly as they cook!
- 2-3 tablespoons Olive oil
- 5 cups Almond milk
- 1 cup Water
- ¼ cup Maple syrup 100% pure
- 1 tablespoon Salt or to taste
- 1 ½ teaspoons Ground black pepper or to taste
- 1 small bundle Fresh thyme or 1-2 teaspoons of dried thyme or to taste
Instructions
- Roast winter squash – Cut winter squashes in half, scoop out seeds* and place the squash halves cut side down on a baking sheet. Add some water to the pan to help keep the squash from sticking and help to “steam” them a little as well while they are roasting (you do not want an inch of water, just enough to barely cover the bottom of the pan). You can line your baking pan with parchment or aluminum foil if you prefer. You can also wrap the whole thing in aluminum foil to speed up the roasting process. I just roast them right on the pan, unwrapped. Roast at 375 degrees F until fork tender (you should be able to stick a fork or knife through the squash easily from the outside skin) – this will depend on the size and thickness of your squashes. So set the timer for 30 minutes, check and keep checking each 10-15 minutes after until done. (It may even take up to an hour). I find it easiest to scoop the squash out of its shell when it’s still warm but caution is needed here – use a potholder or other folded cloth (that you don’t care about getting stained – or can use folded paper towels) to hold the squash and scoop the flesh out of its shell into a large saucepan or just wait until they are cooled to scoop the flesh out.Set the shells aside to give to the chickens (actually my Golden Retriever loves them)!
- Sauté onion and garlic – The onion can be rough chopped here and the garlic cloves left whole as all will be blended. In 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, saute the garlic cloves** and diced onion in a pan until the onion is translucent and turn off the heat just when the onions are starting to turn a bit brown here and there.
- Blend the soup – If using an immersion blender: use the immersion blender to pre-blend the onions and garlic a bit before adding to the squash helps to avoid fishing around to find those clumps to blend. Add blended onion and garlic, almond milk and water to the large saucepan of squash and blend until velvety smooth.If using a blender: add all ingredients to the blender as is in smaller batches, with almond milk to blend until smooth. Safety note: keep the vent open at the top while blending (cover with cloth/paper towel if needed to avoid spattering) to keep any pressure from building up and causing an explosion of hot liquid.
- Seasoning & Finishing – Stir in maple syrup, salt, pepper. Take lengths of fresh thyme and tie into a simple knot (see photo) and submerge in the soup. Let simmer on very low while you prepare a salad, set the table, etc.! Even better, you can make this soup a day ahead, leave the fresh thyme in it overnight and then reheat it in a crockpot on low the next day (3-4 hours on low). Take the thyme bundle out before serving. This method helps to permeate the soup with the thyme flavor but keeps it velvety smooth without any flecks in it. Of course, it’s perfectly fine to just add fresh thyme leaves or a couple teaspoons of dried thyme as well if you don’t mind the texture here! Adjust any seasoning and add more almond milk or water to thin a bit if needed. This is a very thick, rich and creamy soup.
- Makes 8 servings (15 cups/one 6 quart crock pot) – I only make big pots of soup!! If you want 4 servings, use 1 large or 2 smaller winter squashes and cut the remaining ingredients in half.
Notes
IMG_9541Winter squash seeds can be roasted just like pumpkin seeds, are delicious and would be great sprinkled on top of this soup for a garnish or set aside to use as a snack, in granola or to scatter on your salad! To roast the seeds – pull most of the squash pulp off of the seeds (it’s okay to leave some as there is a lot of flavor here) and do not wash this flavor off of them. Toss them in a little bit of olive oil then spread the seeds on a baking pan, sprinkle with salt and roast in a 400 degree oven until lightly browned and crispy. You can get creative here and add other seasonings as well! Keep an eye on the oven as they burn quickly. Check and stir every 5 minutes until done!
