Roasted Squash Soup
You know those days when you come in from the barn (or wherever) and realize you need to get dinner started and soon or you will never eat? So you start pulling what’s available out of the fridge and pantry and start thinking, “OH man. What am I gonna make?” That’s how this soup was born. I had nothing planned, no ideas, and 4 hungry kids. I had recently tried a roasted squash salad that I fell in love with so I decided to make roasted squash the base for a soup. It turned out to be a great decision. The soup had a sweet yet savory and creamy flavor that just melted in your mouth. It was the perfect thing for a chilly fall evening. I have been making a lot of soups lately, they are so easy to throw together, filling and delicious and warm you up so quickly. Plus it’s a great way to use up leftovers. I have a feeling I will be making soup at some point today since I just looked at the current temperature and it was at -22˚f and that’s in town. At our house it is usually about 5-10˚ colder – crazy! You can tell even in the house, we kept the fire going all night because the heat just can’t keep up and it’s still only 62˚ in the house. I call that ‘Soup Weather’.
- 1 large squash like the one you see pictured above
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt
- ¼ cup bacon fat or other fat like olive oil
- 6 cups diced yukon gold potatoes
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 cups duck or chicken broth (I used duck but unless you raise meat ducks like we do that can be hard to come by so chicken should be just fine)
- 1 tablespoon dried tarragon
- ½ cup white wine
- 2 cups cooked, diced chicken
- 1 pint heavy cream
- salt and pepper to taste
- First preheat your oven to 400˚.
- Next take the squash, lay it on it's side and slice it into ⅛" rounds. Scoop the seeds out of the pieces. Lay the squash slices on a rimmed baking sheet and coat them in olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
- Place the squash in the oven to roast, check every few minutes and toss. Roast until edges are lightly browned and squash is lightly caramelized - should be sizzling.
- While the squash is roasting, heat a large dutch oven or stock pot over medium-high heat. Add the bacon fat, once melted, add the diced potatoes and onion. Saute until just starting to soften.
- Add the wine and simmer until just starting to reduce, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the broth and tarragon and bring to a simmer until the potatoes are soft.
- Add the chicken, heavy cream and roasted squash. Bring up to a simmer and add the salt and pepper.
- Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary and then serve.
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