If you live in the northern United States (and probably some other places, too), you likely already know a half-dozen different ways to whip up a delicious butternut squash soup. But when winter squash is so cheap and abundant, and soup weather stretches on for nearly six months, it’s always a good idea to have one more up your sleeve. This super simple bisque is creamy and comforting and mellow enough for picky palates.
So often these days, blogging about food just feels like the most offensively irrelevant activity. Every now and then I show up here to post some recipe I’ve been enjoying, and then I read the news — local, national, or international — and lose my appetite. It feels so unbelievably pointless, not to mention insensitive, to be out on the Internet vying for page views when tragedy is in the headlines (or, too, when it’s deafeningly absent from them). Still, we all need to continue eating, irrespective of institutionalized oppression and blowback and the everyday horrors of factory farms, right? So instead of crawling under a rock yet again and hoping the world will be less horrible the next time I stick my head out (–it definitely won’t!), I’m going to share some simple winter squash recipes with you over the next couple of weeks, starting with this soup. Food is stupid, but it can be restorative, a comfort, a way of showing others you care, and the fuel you rely on to physically keep keeping on despite it all.
Stay warm.
- 3 c roasted butternut squash (1 medium-large butternut squash)
- 2 c vegetable stock
- ¼ c cashews
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- ½ tsp sage
- ½ tsp freshly ground pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp nutmeg
- If you won’t be using a high-speed blender, soak cashews 2 hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Slice squash in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds and strings. (Set these aside for later use; you can roast the seeds and use the goo to make stock.)
- Arrange halves cut-side-up on a baking sheet and bake 30-45 minutes, or until tender.
- If you won’t be using a high-speed blender, mince garlic cloves and drain soaked cashews.
- Once squash is cool enough to handle comfortably, scoop 3 cups of flesh out of the skin and place in blender.
- Add remaining ingredients and blend until completely smooth.
- Pour bisque into a medium pot, cover, and simmer just until it’s heated through. (Alternatively, if you’re using a high speed blender, you can simply continue blending it until the soup is hot.)
- Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve hot, garnished with nutritional yeast and pepitas, if desired.
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