Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

Inspired by...below freezing temperatures

This weekend is supposed to be the coldest yet this winter.  And I believe it.  The sound of wind outside is enough to make me want to curl up with a warm bowl of comfort food.  Instead of making a hearty, beefy meal, I decided to go with this equally comforting, but not quite so heavy, soup.  I also wanted a reason to use my new immersion blender that my sister gave me for Christmas.  (I got the best food gifts from my sisters this year!)  So decision made - pureed veggie soup it is!  I love when inspiration comes in twos!​

Page 48 of Food Network Magazine, May 2015

​I got the basic recipe for this soup from a Food Network ​magazine from May 2015.  I've been keeping this issue on my cookbook shelf because it has a big spread on cupcakes, which I refer to often.  But it also has this great "Mix & Match Vegetable Soup" recipe.  It lets you pick a color and then gives lots of options of vegetables in each color category and seasonings that you can add.  It's really just a guide that you can customize however you want, and I took a few extra liberties this time around too.  For the color, I went with "orange" this weekend because I love butternut squash and sweet potatoes at this time of year. 

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​Now I have a confession to make, I went the easy route and bought the pre-peeled and chopped butternut squash.  My mother will probably disown me.  She doesn't believe in paying for something that can be done yourself.  But I didn't need a whole squash ​(first excuse), and the last time I peeled a squash myself, I peeled off a piece of my own skin with the squash's.  So I splurged and bought the pre-prepped package.  It was worth it.  (But I won't try to convince my mom of that.)

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Orange veggies before roasting

One of the liberties I took with this recipe guide was to roast the veggies instead of just cooking them in the liquid.  I think that this cooking method adds some extra flavor as the vegetables caramelize a bit in the oven.  However, I think I missed an important part of this soup recipe by roasting the white potatoes instead of cooking them in the pot.  The soup was still delicious but it wasn't quite as thick as I remember my last version being.  I'm thinking it is because I didn't develop the starch from the white potatoes in the pot, and the starch is probably important in thickening the soup.  So in the recipe below, I'm recommending that you cook the potatoes, onions, and garlic in the pot instead of roasting them like I did today.  However, I still like the idea of roasting the squash and sweet potatoes with the thyme, so I'm including that step in the recipe.​

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I also added a touch of smoked paprika at the end.  I like the extra flavor it gave to the soup!  This was another last minute inspiration and not part of the original recipe guide, so feel free to skip it if you don't have that ingredient or like the flavor of the soup without it.  Soup is great for tasting as you go and it's easy to add more seasoning at any point.  Let me know if you try any other seasoning combinations that you like!

Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups of peeled and chopped white potatoes​
• 2 cups of chopped onions
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 cups peeled and chopped butternut squash (~1 inch cubes)
• 2 cups peeled and chopped sweet potatoes (~1 inch cubes)
• 6-8 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 6-7 cups of low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth (or a combine of broth and water)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)

​Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. ​Place chopped squash, sweet potatoes, and thyme sprigs on a large baking sheet.  Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.  Mix to coat all of the vegetables.
3. Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes, mixing once in the middle of the cooking time. 
4. While the vegetables are roasting, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan.  Add onions and cook until tender. 
5. Add minced garlic and season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a pinch of pepper.  Cook for about 1 minute.
6. Add the chopped white potatoes to your saucepan and cook for 2-3 more minutes.
7. Once your roasted vegetables are done, remove the thyme sprigs and add the squash and sweet potatoes to your pot.
8. Add broth and bay leaf.
9. Cook over medium heat for about 20-25 minutes, until all vegetables are tender.
10. Cool slightly and remove bay leaf.
    
11. Blend with an immersion blender or in batches in a regular blender.
12. Taste soup at this point and decide if you want to add the smoked paprika or any other seasonings!
13. Finish soup with a dollop of sour cream and garnish with some thyme sprigs.