simple roasted butternut squash soup (with a surprise)

You guys, this post contains some of the worst pictures on this site thus far.  So you're going to have to trust me on this one.

Because while I forgot to recharge my DSLR and my iPhone refused to do justice to the delicate color, silken texture, and beautiful simplicity of this soup, I've never been more excited to share something with you.

Have you ever had a soup that gave you mixed feelings?  Not mixed as in "I really love you Mom, but you can do better,"* but the kind that manages to make you smile and weep at the same time?  The kind of soup that, while satisfying your deepest cravings, crushes all your past, present, and future soup goals with its unachievable perfection?

I have, and, not surprisingly, the culprit was a seasonal butternut squash soup the restaurant makes during the fall.   (There's a small chance I could be biased, seeing as I have an obsessive love for soups and butternut squash and my workplace.  Just a small one.)  It was one I tried to imitate in this post. And I was pretty proud of it, too - then I had the real deal again and found myself back at square one, dumbfounded.

Luckily fate was on my side, because as you know, I overheard a conversation that unlocked a little secret to achieving the elusive flavor of that soup - ready?



Vanilla.

And the best part is, it totally works.

In order to test its magical powers, I intentionally made a very simple soup, refraining from flavors or garnishes that would potentially mask the vanilla.  Because I utilized a few simple techniques I've learned since my last attempt, the soup was still surprisingly good before the vanilla.  But, once added, it lent a distinct and yet unidentifiable depth of flavor that effortlessly elevated the squash to another level.  (Wow, adjective/adverb overload much?)



As for the simple techniques I mentioned, I roasted the butternut squash with brown sugar and a pinch of cinnamon until fork-tender (an irresistible side on its own, may I add) before adding it to the soup.  In the meantime, I cooked down onions, licorice-y fennel and garlic until they began to caramelize.  After adding the roasted squash and chicken stock, I boiled the heck out of it and then simmered it for fifteen minutes longer.  At this point, even before blending, every ingredient was soft enough on its own to be broken apart by a wooden spoon.  As a final guarantee of absolute silkiness, I drizzled two tablespoons of olive oil into the soup while blending it, which is always a good trick to making any purée really, really smooth.  (Sparknotes version of this paragraph: COOK DOWN + EMULSIFY = SMOOTH).

I have to admit that the reason I didn't share this sooner was simply because I haven't felt like cooking.  At all.  To give you a picture of how bad it's been, I dragged my feet to the market two times this week and walked out with frozen enchilada entrees and almond gelato.  But today, that part of my memory which is triggered by taste was made vivid, very much like Anton's.  With that first spoonful, I was completely caught off guard - how could I forget how exciting this was?  And I was reminded that it's when you don't feel like doing what you normally love to do, that you need to do it the most.  That you can - forgive the cheese - be your own inspiration.

Hey, now you can be yours, too.


* Except I would never say that to my mom. She is the best. Hi Umma <3

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

4 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 onion, medium diced
1/2 fennel bulb, medium diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 cups chicken stock
1/2 tsp good vanilla extract (not artificial)
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
*Suggestion: would also be great with a little shaved nutmeg, but I didn't have any!

Preheat oven to 425 F.  Toss butternut squash with brown sugar, ground cinnamon, 1tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.  Lay in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (even better if you have a silicone mat) and roast for 30 minutes.  In a large saucepan or a 3 qt dutch oven, bring 1 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp olive oil to medium heat.  Add fennel to the pot, let soften for about two minutes, and then add onion and cook until they begin to get translucent and yellow. Add garlic, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper and cook for about 10 more minutes.  Turn heat to low and allow the vegetables to start caramelizing.  Stir pot occasionally and continue to cook over low heat until the squash is ready.  Take the squash out of the oven and, using an oven mitt, carefully transfer to the pot.  Add enough chicken stock to just cover the everything else in the pot, about 3 cups.  Bring to a rolling boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover on low heat for 15 more minutes.  Lift lid and turn the heat off. Stir in the vanilla extract.  Using an immersion blender, food processor, or conventional blender, carefully purée the soup while slowly streaming 2 tbsp olive oil into it.  Continue to blend until the mixture is completely smooth.  Season more to taste, if needed.