Tonight's DRD: Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

If you've never made butternut squash soup, a staple of New England dishes in the Fall, you owe it to yourself to make it (even if you're not from New England). The simple fulfillment of the warm, flavorful soup is truly wonderful. Better yet, I have a simple recipe for making it that is extremely forgiving and very easy - and even a few ideas to fancy it up.

We made it the other night and topped it with some warmed white beans and scallions. In the photo, you can see this no-knead bread that we had just pulled out of the oven. Together, they couldn't have been better.

Recipe below the jump!


Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with White Beans 

This recipe tops the soup with white beans and green onions. You can top it with anything you'd like, like cheddar cheese or sour cream, fresh chives or anything you'd like. It's also delicious as it is.

2 medium butternut squash, peeled, halved and seeds scooped out
4 T. olive oil
2 T. butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 t. fresh thyme, chopped
3-4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 cup cooked white beans
1/3 cup chopped green onion

Preheat an oven to 450.

Chop the squash into 1 inch cubes. Place on a sheet pan in a single layer and coat with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place in the oven for 45-60 minutes until the squash is cooked through and the edges are well browned.

In a large pan, melt the butter. Add the onion and then garlic and cook until translucent. Add in the roasted squash, thyme and cover with the stock. Bring to a boil and then reduce to allow to simmer for half and hour.

Puree in a food processor or blender until smooth, adding a little more stock if too thick. Season with salt and pepper.

Warm the white beans in a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

To serve, place soup in a bowl, top with a spoonful of the white beans, the green onion and a drizzle of good olive oil and some freshly cracked pepper. Serve at once with warm bread.