Smoky Roasted Butternut Soup

These cool autumn days in Western North Carolina have me wishing that I had a freezer stash of my homemade chicken stock. It seems that as soon as I make chicken stock, it is gone the next day! We love soup in our house and this particular soup, Smoky Roasted Butternut Soup, is one of our favorites. It’s a deeply nourishing soup to go with the chilly fall air. It’s loaded with nutrition (homemade stock, ginger, cumin) to help fight off colds and keep the immune system healthy.

There are many ways and methods to make stock, but I do mine a very simple way in my crockpot. I throw the bones and organs in my crockpot, along with a few carrots, a few sticks of celery, an onion, a few garlic cloves, and a inch-long piece of ginger. I fill it up with water and cook on low for, at least, 24 hours. For step-by-step directions you can check out this post I wrote, “Good Broth Resurrects the Dead.” 

With the autumn chill rolling in, you will find a beautiful assortment of squashes and pumpkins at your grocer or Farmer’s Market. This past week I picked up a delicious, organic butternut squash and made one of my favorite soups with it. We like to throw a protein on top of our soups since soup is the main dish of our meals. Some great protein sources to throw on soup is leftover chicken, boiled eggs, or ground meat. Chicken really compliments the smooth, sweet taste of the butternut, so that is my recommendation!

Smoky Roasted Butternut Soup

Ingredients: 

• 9 cups of chicken stock (this is how I make mine), divided use
• 1 butternut squash
• 6 TB of butter/ghee/bacon fat/coconut oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 TB of sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon of ginger
• 2 TB cumin
• Protein of choice: boiled eggs or leftover chicken
• Top with sour cream (optional)

Items Needed:

• Crockpot (I like this one)
• Heavy stock pot or Dutch Oven (I like this one)
• Blender (I have this one)

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the butternut squash in half. Scrape out the seeds. Put the butternut squash with the cut side up on a baking tray. Put a tablespoon of butter or ghee in each cavity. Place in the oven, uncovered, and bake until fork-tender; about an hour.

2. Remove the squash from the oven and allow it to cool until you can handle it. Use a spoon and scrape the squash out.

3. Put the squash and 1 cup of chicken stock in a blender and puree till smooth. Set aside.

4. In a heavy stock pot or dutch oven, heat 4 TB of your fat of choice (I use butter) over medium-high heat.

5. Add the onions and the garlic and sauté until soft and translucent; about 5 minutes.

6. Add the squash puree, stock, cumin, ginger, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes to allow the spices to blend.

7. Top with your protein of choice and serve with a dollop of sour cream (optional).

Enjoy!