2largecarrots, peeled, quartered and slicedor 4 medium carrots, 6 small
2medium shallotsor 1 medium onion
2teaspoonsdried thyme
1 teaspoondried sage
2apples, peeled and roughly chopped
2 quarts chicken stock **
2cupsapple cider
1tablespoonoil (your preferred cooking oil. I used avocado.)
Instructions
Squash Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°.
Cut off the squash "neck" right above where the round bulb containing the seeds is.
Cut off the stem and slice both pieces in half.
Scoop out the seeds & stringy insides with a spoon. I find it faster to go around the opening of the squash seeds with a paring knife and then just scoop out with a spoon and clean it up.
Place cut side down on a baking sheet covered with parchment, a reusable baking sheet or coated in oil.
Roast for about 45 minutes in a 400 degree oven.
Remove from the oven and turn over the pieces of squash that contained seeds. Stab with a fork to see if it is done. A fork should easily go in and out of the squash. If it does not, return it to the oven and roast longer.
It is likely that the larger, thicker part of the squash will take about 15-20 minutes longer. Remove the squash that is done, and place the others back into the oven. It does depend how large your squash is how long it will take to roast.
Squash can be roasted days in advance if desired. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
Preparing the Soup
Peel and slice my garlic and let it stand.
Slice celery, placing it in the pot with the oil on low heat to begin cooking
Chop the carrots. Add the carrots to the pot. Stir about every 5 minutes
Chop the shallots (or onion) and add to the pot with the sliced garlic. Increase your stirring frequence to every 2-3 minutes as you do not want the shallots to burn.
Peel and chop the apples. You can add them to the pot before or after the broth.
When the shallots are translucent, add the spices. Stir and cook for about 30 seconds until you smell the spices. Immediately add broth to the pot so the spices do not burn.
Add the cider.
Peel the squash. Roughly chop it and add it to the pan.
Bring the soup to a simmer and cook for about an hour. ***
Puree the soup with an immersion or regular or high powered blender.
Serve with your favortie toppings and Enjoy!
Notes
* weighed whole
** use vegetable stock for vegetarian soup
*** You can place the soup in a large slow cooker at this point if you desire. Cook on low for about 2 hours (check that all the vegetables are completely tender)
I experimented with several butternut squash recipes before I finally made up my own. This recipe on epicurious is closest to mine, so it served as inspiration! https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/butternut-squash-soup-with-cider-cream-15657See blog post for instructions using raw, cubed squash instead of roasted.