I love shopping at Farmers Markets, don’t you? For me, that feast of colors, flavors, fruits, veggies, flowers, spices, ciders, breads (and more!) is beyond intoxicating. And inspiring. Hence my latest soup recipe.

 

 
I’ve pretty much never met a vegetable I didn’t like or want to eat! So when I went home with a nice sized Butternut Squash and some ears of corn, this recipe was gonna happen. It’s super simple to prepare. And so delicious.

A note on your prep: you can boil or grill the corn, but roasting it unlocks its hidden sweetness and earthy flavor in a totally hands-off way. And when you roast all your main ingredients together (squash, corn and onion), you streamline your timing and make for a no-fuss clean up.  Win win, right?

I’m sharing the proportions I used, but you can adjust to how many you are cooking for. This soup is so good I suggest you make more than you think you need and refrigerate or freeze. You won’t be sorry.

Butternut Squash & Corn Soup (serves 4)

Ingredients:

1 Medium Butternut Squash 

4 Ears of Corn

1 medium Sweet Onion

1 knot of Fresh Ginger (peeled and coarsely chopped)

Low Sodium Vegetable Broth (adjust as you go)

1 tsp Curry Powder

4 Cardamon Seeds (or 1/2 tsp Powder)

1/2 tsp Cumin

Saffron (optional)

Fresh Ground Pepper & Salt to taste 

Olive Oil

For topping: Chopped Pecans

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Wash, dry and slice Butternut Squash in half lengthwise. Remove seeds. Leave skin on — it’s easy to scoop out the pulp once it’s cooked.

Leave corn in husks but trim ends as needed. 

Peel and coarsely chop onion.

Scatter all 3 ingredients on parchment lined baking sheet. Lightly baste squash and drizzle onion with olive oil.

Sprinkle squash with seasoning. I place the cardamom pods in the squash cavities.

Bake in oven for @ 30 minutes. Corn and onions will be done in this amount of time, but your squash may take a bit longer. It’s ready when it’s soft when pricked with a fork.

Once cool to the touch, remove corn from husk and slice off the cob. Scoop out squash pulp.

Add all three, roasted cardamom pods and peeled and chopped ginger to a food processor (I have a Cuisinart) or a large-capacity blender like my Ninja. 

Pulse 3-4 times, then add a pinch of saffron and broth, starting with one cup. Blend to smooth consistency.

Transfer to pot. You can adjust seasoning and add more broth as soup simmers.

For garnish, I topped with some chopped pecans for a bit of crunch. But croutons or toasted pepitas would be nice, too.

For dessert, I leave you with a few pics from my peak week escape to our Adirondack cabin. Enjoy!

Fleece: H&M (so cozy, also in black and lilac)

Shoes: Birkenstock (I live in them. And so should you.) 

Photos by MP, Chris & Spencer Allegaert.