Butternut Squash Soup
When the leaves transform from their lush green to brilliant shades of red, orange and yellow, we welcome fall into our world for all that it has to offer. This includes the chillier winds, pumpkin spice lattes, the sunsets and… butternut squash soup!
This soup, when topped off with fried onions and dollops of yogurt, will warm your stomach with rich, pure flavors! Simple and delicious, this soup will truly make you savor every bite!
Let me take you through the steps and some important tips. The following recipe makes a huge batch but it can easily be halved.
Step 1
Chop the vegetables: carrots, onions, garlic and butternut squash. Cut carrots about 1 inch thick. Dice the onions in four parts. Just peel the garlic, we will roast it whole so no need to dice it. The challenging part is cutting through the butternut squash! Make sure to do it on a non-slip surface and use a sharp knife.
Step 2
Coat these vegetables with oil that has been seasoned with salt, black pepper powder and paprika to make them taste really great. Brush it on the butternut squash and then I like to throw the carrots, onions and garlic in the remaining spiced oil before spreading them all on the baking dish as shown below.
Step 3
Bake for around 40 minutes. You might need to check if the butternut squash has softened to the point that a knife can easily go through and you can chop up the squash easily. If you feel that a little more time is needed, remove the carrots, onions and garlic (because these will burn) and return the butternut squash to the oven and give around 5-10 minutes more. Check out the picture below and see how gorgeously they have roasted.
Step 4
Once roasted, the butternut squash skin will be soft and can be easily peeled off. Chop it into smaller pieces. Next, all our roasted vegetable will need to be pureed. It can be done in one go using an immersion blender or if using a normal blender, you will need to do it in batches. You can use stock of your choice or even water. Puree till no vegetables are seen. The mixture will be thick.
Now at this stage there are 2 options: you can proceed ahead with the recipe or refrigerate it to make the soup the next day.
Step 5
To further enhance the flavors of this soup we will cook it in some spices- paprika powder, cinnamon powder, nutmeg, salt, black pepper powder, lemon juice and Sriracha sauce for some kick. At this point you can adjust the consistency of the soup by adding more water if you want to thin it out.
Step 6
Now that the soup is almost ready, prepare the 2 special ingredients — fried onions and whipped yogurt. You can fry the onions at home or use store bought ones. If you want to do it yourself, it is easy. Simply slice the onion very thinly, place in a frying pan on high heat and add enough oil to partly cover them and then don’t touch them till you start seeing the edges of the onions slightly browning. Then start mixing and keep stirring until ALMOST all the onions have browned. Then immediately remove them onto a separate plate lined with paper towel to soak up the extra oil.
To prepare the yogurt, in a bowl add the desired amount of yogurt and give it a few quick stirs with a spoon until the yogurt looks smooth and creamy. That’s it!
Step 7- Butternut squash soup is ready!
Finally, time to enjoy the soup! Pour the butternut soup in the bowl, add the fried onions and top it off with the whipped yogurt. You can add some chopped green onions too. With every bite you will taste the savory and spiced butternut flavor along with the sweetness of the caramelized onions and a hint of sourness from the yogurt.
Any leftovers can be refrigerated (including the fried onions) for up to a week. Just warm it up and enjoy.
Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 1 large butternut squash (approximately, 1.5 kg)
- 2 medium carrots
- 1 large white onion
- 3-4 garlic cloves
- 5 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha (omit if needed)
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg powder
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 4 cups broth (vegetable or chicken or water)
- 2 cups water
- 1 large fried onion (homemade or store-bought) (see Notes below)
- yogurt (whipped) (see Notes below)
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 400 F
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper and lightly grease it.
Preparing the vegetables:
- Cut the butternut squash in half and scoop out the seeds.
- Dice the carrots into 1 inch pieces.
- Chop one large white onion into quarters.
- Peel the garlic cloves.
Preparing the oil mixture:
- In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons oil + ¼ teaspoon salt + ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder + ¼ teaspoon paprika.
- Brush this oil mixture onto the butternut squash.
- With the remaining oil mixture, coat the carrots, garlic and the white onions.
- Spread the vegetables onto the baking dish and let it bake for 40 minutes.
- Check if the butternut squash is soft by poking with a fork. If it still feels hard, remove the carrots, white onions and the garlic and give the squash 10 minutes more.
Puree the vegetables: 2 ways
- Once out of the oven, let the vegetables cool down slightly.
- Peel the skin off the butternut squash.
- 1) If Using an immersion blender, transfer the roasted vegetables to a large pot, add 4 cups of broth to it and blend till you reach a smooth, thick consistency.
- 2) If using a regular blender, you will need to do it in batches. Add a portion of the broth to the vegetables and blend till smooth.
Sauteing the spices:
- Add 3 tablespoons of oil into a large pot over medium heat.
- Add 2 teaspoons of paprika powder + ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon powder + ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg + 1 teaspoon salt + ½ teaspoon of black pepper powder + 2 -3 teaspoons of Sriracha.
- Immediately, add 3 -4 tablespoons of water so that the spices don’t burn.
- Sauté the spices for 30 seconds.
- Then add the vegetable puree to the pot. Reduce the heat to medium low, give it a good stir and let it cook for 10 minutes.
- Once done, add lemon juice. Taste and adjust the salt if needed.
- Serve it with fried onions and dollops of whipped yogurt.
Notes
- You can replace the broth with water.
- To fry onions at home: slice the onion very thinly, place in a frying pan on medium high heat and add enough oil to partly cover them and then don’t touch them till you start seeing the edges of the onions slightly browning. Then start mixing and keep stirring until ALMOST all the onions have browned. Immediately remove them onto a separate plate lined with paper towel to soak up the extra oil.
- To prepare the yogurt: in a bowl add the desired amount of yogurt and give it a few quick stirs with a spoon until the yogurt looks smooth and creamy.
- Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for a week.
4 Comments
F.
Made this for the first time ever this fall , and this was one hearty, filling soup! And quite a huge portion from just one squash. Will make this again – thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe and detailed prep method.
Falak
You are most welcome! Glad you liked it.
Anonymous437
Great Photography And Great Recipe
Falak
Thank you.