Curried Butternut Squash Soup

By Kathryn Washburn Breighner 

Perry and I have both been in the kitchen with squash soups, his using buttercup and mine using butternut. In the fall, squash soups are popular as these hearty winter vegetables hold up to a myriad of flavors.

I wanted a savory, curry soup. Many of the squash soup recipes call for cubing the uncooked squash and then simmering in stock. Since I like the sweet flavor that roasting brings to vegetables, I roasted the butternut squash first.  I pierced two medium size butternut squash and roasted on a baking sheet at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes until a knife could pierce the squash and come out easily. Then I cut them in half and let them cool.

While they were cooking, I sauteed:

1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced, in
3 T olive oil

As the vegetables softened, I added 2 t of curry powder and stirred for a minute (the fragrance that comes from the pan is amazing!).  To this pan, I added 1 cup of water and brought to a simmer.

I scooped out the cooked squash and pureed in a food processor. To the squash, I added the water/garlic/curry/water along with 2 1/2 c of water and 3 t of chicken base (Penzey's).  Puree until smooth adding more water, if desired, for a thinner soup

Back to the pot went the puree with some salt and pepper and it simmered on low heat for 15 minutes. The soup was served with a dollop of sour cream. Wow!