By far, my favorite part of winter is the cooking the comes with it. When the the chilly weather has me stuck inside, I can’t think of much I’d rather do. One of my favorite weekend – and even sometime weeknight – tradition is making a big pot of soup to start the week. A frequent one on my stove is a Roasted Butternut Squash and Red Pepper Soup, inspired by a recipe by my girl Gaby.
For this simple soup, basically you just cut up some gorgeous fall veggies, roast them on a sheet pan and blend them all together with stock. A few Christmas’ ago I asked for an inexpensive immersion blender for Christmas, and for someone who doesn’t have a reliable stand blender, this thing has been a life saver. Also, the best part of this soup is that freezes so well. I usually portion leftovers out and fill one serving in a freezer bag or pyrex dish. The perfect solution for when I act all kinds of brand new and get too wimpy to run to get groceries during a cold front.
Scroll through for the full recipe, and some photos for inspiration. Happy blending!
Photos by Kenzie Kokta
Recipe adapted from What’s Gaby Cooking
Ingredients
- 1 large butternut squash, seeded, and cut in chunks
- 2-3 large carrots, peeled, halved and cut into chunks
- 1 red bell pepper, halved and seeds removed
- 1 head garlic, unpeeled, halved
- 1 small yellow onion, halved and skin removed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 2-4 cups vegetable stock
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 F.
- Place the squash, carrots, bell peppers, garlic and onion on a large sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for for 45-60 minutes until the squash and carrots are fork tender.
- Peel and discard the skins of squash. Transfer all the vegetables to a large pot, and add 2 cups of vegetable stock and red pepper flakes.
- Using an immersion blender, puree the ingredients until smooth. If you want a thinner soup, add more stock until it’s thin enough for your liking. Then, add the coconut milk a little at a time, while blending, until you’re satisfied with the creaminess.
- Bring to a slow simmer, and let cook for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper as needed. Top with green onions and serve with crusty bread