Taste of Kansas - Butternut Squash Soup

One of the things I like about living in Kansas is the changing seasons. Usually this is gradual and allows us to enjoy the cooling (or warming) days and anticipate the coming season. This year it seems like we've plunged directly into winter. But the recent "From the Land of Kansas Blog" featured five recipes of fall produce from Kansas.

The first recipe I tried is for Butternut Squash. I've seen these pretty produce items in the store but never bought and cooked one, so this was a new experience. And it turned out to be a good soup and easy to prepare. The original recipe was for 2 pounds of squash, the one I purchased was 1 ½ pounds, so I've modified the recipe for that amount. This is also a better quantity for a small family - about 5 servings.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

1 ½ pound peeled, cubed (or mashed) butternut squash
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ - ½ cup chopped onion
freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
The original recipe instructed to peel and cube the squash, then bake with olive oil, salt and pepper for 50 minutes. They must have had more muscle and sharper knife than I had! I found the instructions on the squash itself to work better - cut squash in half, scoop out seeds and lay cut side down in a baking dish. Add a little water and bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes (or until softened). After cooling, scoop out the pulp and mash.
In a large pot, melt butter. Saute onion in butter until translucent. Add minced ginger, roasted squash, and stock. Simmer 20-30 minutes. Blend with a hand blender or food processor until smooth.

I found it easy to cut the squash in half and scoop out seeds.
No need to peel and cube a hard raw squash! 

Bake in a baking pan with a little water.

Scoop out softened pulp of squash.