On Squash

And soup!

Happy Friday! This is the weekly recipe post for paid subscribers—comfort food for difficult, sad, scary times. On Tuesday, all readers will receive a photo essay featuring my summer produce project. There is a hard stop ahead, which sucks, but hey: it’s this or endless ads on a website, so here we are.

All of the sudden, it’s fall, and I’m cold, and I need some major comfort food to deal with current events. Good thing my garden overproduced on butternut squash because it’s time for a big ol’ batch of squash soup.

I know what you’re thinking: “Another butternut squash soup recipe? Seriously? This isn’t my first rodeo.” And look, I hear you. This time of year, everyone and their mother makes roasted butternut squash soup, and it all tastes the same. It’s on the menu of every day-time cafe as a vegetarian-maybe-vegan-if-you’re-lucky option. It’s healthy yet comforting: it’s butternut squash soup for god’s sake.

I’m here to present you with your new favorite butternut soup recipe. First things first, we’re doing a double roast of our veggies, first in the oven, then on the stove. Next things next, we’re not going to add any dairy to the soup — in my humble-yet-dictator-like opinion, this gives it just a really weird texture that I do NOT dig in butternut squash soup. We’ll use broth instead. Finally, we’re going all in on spices, especially the ones that your body craves during the winter to help boost its defenses against, oh, I dunno, literally every germ ever. (Please also get vaccinated!)

I make this soup using my immersion blender, which is slowing down in her old age, but you can also do the blend-y part in your regular blender. You just may need to be patient and blend in batches. Either way, definitely top this soup with a nice big batch of crispy crunchy oil and a dollop of yogurt if you’re not making it vegan. Crusty bread is a dream. Toasted pita is another perfect match.

Butternut Squash Soup