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Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
If you’re not already making a weekly pot of soup, please start now and start here. So rich and warm, with all the flavors of fall – roasted butternut squash, sweet apple, those heady, warming spices! – pureed until velvety smooth and made even more luscious with coconut milk.
You’ll find plenty of tender, buttery-soft pops of pecans to give you something to chew on and a few spicy rings of serrano chile to heat you up from the inside out with a welcome little bite of freshness. Mmmm…good soup!
Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
Ingredients:
Spiced Pecans
1 egg
2 tablespoons coconut sugar (or light brown sugar)
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon cumin seed
1 cup raw pecans
Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
1 medium butternut squash, halved, seeded
2 Honeycrisp apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped
1 red onion, roughly chopped
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp smoked chile flake or chipotle chile powder
¼ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp fresh thyme
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth, or water
2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 serrano pepper, thinly sliced (optional)
1 13.5-ounce can full-fat coconut milk
Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper
Flaky sea salt, for garnish
Instructions:
•Preheat oven to 425F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
•Season the squash halves with salt and place cut side down onto a prepared baking sheet. Roast 35 minutes or until fork tender – timing will vary based on the size of the squash.
•Separate egg white and add to a medium bowl. Reserve yolk for another use. Add 1 tablespoon of water to the egg white and froth until creamy, light and white with a fork or whisk. Add the sugar, spices (adding cumin seed either to this mix or reserving to sprinkle on the pecan clusters before baking), pepper, and a pinch of salt to the egg whites and whisk until well combined. Add pecans to the bowl and toss to combine. Spoon small clusters of pecans onto prepared baking sheet and add to the bottom third of the oven with the roasting butternut squash. Roast 8-10 minutes until until egg wash has dried out, using a spatula or wooden spoon to toss and mix halfway through. Nuts should be tender, crisp, buttery and richly scented. Alternatively, roast at 300F for 12-15 minutes until the same is achieved. A lower, slower roast will give you more roasting of the nut as opposed to toasting of its surface only. Remove roasted nuts and allow to cool until ready to use.
•In the base of a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven, add the olive oil and heat until shimmering over medium-high heat. Add the onions and apple and a ½ teaspoon of kosher salt. Stir to combine and allow to sweat and caramelize, 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the spices and thyme to the hot oil and stir to coat the onions and apple. Cook another 2 minutes to bloom the spices. Add the garlic, stir to combine, and cook another 1 minute. Reduce to low heat and stir now and then until ready to add the squash.
•When the squash is finished roasting, remove from the oven and allow to cool until it can be handled. Use a spoon to easily scoop out the tender flesh and add it to the soup pot with your onions and apples.
•Add broth to the soup pot and use an immersion blender to puree until rich, smooth and creamy. Add vinegar and maple syrup then season for taste, adding more salt and pepper as needed. Set pot over high heat and bring to a boil, cover, then drop to a simmer and cook 20 minutes more to allow flavors to meld, stirring occasionally.
•Meanwhile, roughly chop the cooled pecans. Ladle soup into serving bowls and serve garnished with 1-2 tablespoons of coconut milk, a scattering of pecans, a few coins of serrano, and a little pinch of flaky sea salt. Enjoy!
•You will have coconut milk left over; freeze as individual ice cubes for easy future use!
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