Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Roasted butternut squash soup – a silky, creamy and luscious soup to warm your palate. This heart warming soup is prepared by blending the oven roasted butternut squash, sautéed onions and garlic along with maple syrup and nutmeg powder. Roasting the butternut squash enhances the flavour of the soup. Serve this warm soup as an appetizer along with some breads.

This is a recipe that I adapted from a food website Cookie + Kate. Here is the link below.

https://cookieandkate.com/roasted-butternut-squash-soup/

Cooking Time: 1 hour

Serving: 2 

Ingredients:

Butternut squash	1
Olive oil	1 tablespoon
Small onion / Shallots	approximately 10 (small size)
Garlic	3 cloves
Maple syrup	1 tablespoon
Ground nutmeg powder	1/4 teaspoon
Freshly ground Pepper	to taste
Salt	top taste
Butter	1 to 2 tablespoons
Cilantro / Coriander leaves ( optional)	to garnish

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line the baking tray with the parchment paper.
• Chop the butternut squash lengthwise into two equal halves. Discard the seeds. Smear some oil on each half of the butternut squash so that the inside is lightly coated with oil.
• Place the butternut squash upside down on the baking tray and roast it for about 45 to 50 minutes until the fleshy part is tender and well cooked. If the fleshy part is browned on the edges, you can include or discard according to your preference. Browned edges add flavour. Allow the squash to cool down. Scoop the fleshy part of the butternut squash and discard the skin. Add the fleshy part of the butternut squash to a blender.

• Take a pan, add 1 tablespoon olive oil. When the oil is warm enough, add the small onions / shallots and sauté until it is transparent. Now add the minced garlic and cook until the raw smell goes away. Allow it to cool. Transfer the contents to the blender.
• To the blender, add maple syrup, nutmeg powder, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add about 3 to 4 cups of water or vegetable broth.
• Blend the ingredients in high speed. Blend it until you get a smooth and creamy consistency.
• If the soup is too thick, then add in more water or vegetable broth to dilute it. Add 1 to 2 tablespoon butter to this. Blend again so that the contents are uniformly mixed.
• Check for salt and pepper and add in more if needed.
• Transfer the soup to a pot and warm the soup to medium heat. Garnish with coriander leaves (optional).
• Transfer this to individual soup bowls and serve warm along with some breads.
  

Notes:

• Instead of roasting the butternut squash, you can chop them into cubes after discarding the skin. Boil them until they are tender and add it to the blender. But roasting he butternut squash adds flavour to the soup.

Check out my other soup variety:

• Drumstick Leaves Soup / Moringa Leaves Soup