Roasty Toasty

Roast vegetables form a gloriously delicious bridge between grill season and winter's embrace. We happily crank up our ovens as the evenings get chilly, filling our homes with scents of the season and tastes we crave.

The unassuming butternut squash transforms after spending an hour at 325 degrees accompanied by an onion and a few heads of garlic (and a few brutal moments with a stick blender). Yes, butternut squash soup is a standard in the fall repertoire, but it's a satisfyingly quick soup that covers at least a few meals and is even better when reheated.

Here's the cream free option that I keep tweaking each time I make it. Easily doubled, but frankly I just make it again rather than stock up. It makes the house smell so yummy.

1 large butternut squash
1 large-ish onion (yellow or whatever is in the fridge)
3-4 cloves of garlic (this really mellows when you roast it, so if you want it more pronounced add more)
Olive oil or oil of choice
pinch of salt and pepper to taste
3-4 cups of vegetable broth
1 tbs fresh grated ginger

Preheat over to 325 degrees.
Cut squash in half, clean out seeds and goo (I use my melon baller for this).
Chop onion into very large slice/chunks and peel garlic cloves.
Place squash cut sides down onto baking sheet and sprinkle onions and garlic around the halves.
Roast 30 minutes. After 30 minutes I check the onions and typically sprinkle a little olive oil on them to keep them roasting down and not drying out. (or you can toss then in olive oil to start, works the same). Roast another 30 minutes (or if pre-oiled, just go 60 minutes).

Pull out, let cool a little bit or if you have hearty fingers dive right into scooping out squash into soup pot. Blend squash, onions and garlic with stick blender in pot, adding a touch of vegetable broth slowly until consistency you think you want (I prefer slightly thicker). Add in ginger and s/p to taste.

Allow soup to cook on medium to medium low for around 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Eat.

Garnish options:
-Dollop of sour cream or yogurt
-Cinnamon, nutmeg or cayenne pepper
-Ginger butter (brown 4 tbs of butter, add in fresh grated ginger)
-Bits of candied ginger

Miss the creamy? Add in up to 1/2 cup of heavy cream during the cooking/ginger step.

Yea for an easy Meatless Monday option.