Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

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Of the many inspirations I found at the farmers market this morning, what really caught my eye? Some farm fresh butternut squash.  It looked so fresh and appealing that I couldn’t pass it up.

It was a little cooler than usual this morning (in the 70’s/Florida cold front LOL) so I thought I’d make some hearty soup for lunch.  Now a lot of butternut squash soups can be a bit more liquidy ( is that a word? it is now) than I prefer, but I am going to make this a more hearty soup with some real body to it. The sweet, distinct flavor of the roasted squash will be center-stage, but I will surrounded it with a really full cast of flavors. Now what could I add to give it a smokey flavor?  Bacon and sausage, aside from the meaty goodness they bring, will add that smokey undertone I will like.  And a multitude of spices to give it that warm cozy spark.  I am also going to add some cannellini beans for protein and body.

• 2 butternut squash
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• 3 strips bacon
• 1 leek
• 2 celery stalks
• 1 carrot
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1/2 tsp dried sage
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 6 cups chicken broth 
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 3 sprigs thyme
• 6 sage leaves
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 3 hot italian sausage links
• ~30 oz (2 cans) cannellini beans
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• dash ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp ground roasted peanuts

Start with the squash. Cut them in half from top to bottom and remove the stringy parts and seeds as best you can. Rub all over with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle on salt and pepper, and roast these fleshy side up in the oven on 400°F for about 45 minutes, give or take 20 minutes (wait until they’re fork tender).

While you wait on the squash, prepare all of the other vegetables and herbs. Finely dice the carrot, celery, pale part of the leek, and garlic. Likewise for the thyme, rosemary, and sage leaves.

And hey, time flies, the squash is done! Give it a few minutes to cool down so you don’t burn yourself before you go scooping out the cooked squash flesh. Set this aside.

In a Dutch oven or some other large pot, cook the bacon. Once its done, remove the cooked bacon and set it aside. Leave about 1-2 Tbsp. of the bacon grease in the pan and save the rest for future use.

With the bacon out of the way, remove the sausage from its casing, crumble it up, and cook it in the bacon grease until thoroughly cooked. Set it aside.

And now, start cooking the vegetables. Sauté the carrot, celery, and leek in the grease for about 8 minutes. Add the garlic for an additional minute. In a separate dry pan, toast the dried chili for a minute or two and set it aside.

Deglaze the vegetable pan with the white wine, pouring it and promptly scraping the browned bits off of the bottom of the pan.

Add the stock and the scooped out squash. Also add in the herbs, spices, and the dried pepper and let this all simmer for about 15 minutes.

With everything a bit softer, now is a good time to puree this. Carefully and working in batches, puree the mixture, preferably using a blender (you’ll get a smoother result than in a food processor). Continue to simmer the pureed mix.

Add the cream and sour cream to the soup and continue simmering until you’re happy with the texture. Once you are, adjust the seasoning of the soup to taste and add the sausage, crumbled bacon, and beans. Continue to simmer for another 10-15 minutes to warm everything up.

At this point, grab yourself a bowl and dig in. I thought the soup photographed better without the beans, sausage and bacon so I chose that picture.