Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon Soup

I’m totally hoarding pumpkins at the moment — I buy a butternut every time I go to the shops.
Yet not a single one of them will become a Jack-o’-Lantern (I’m so bad at carving pumpkin — no matter how hard I try they always come out lousy) nor they will be used for making pumpkin pie (I know that’s almost blasphemous to say but I’m not a big fan of pumpkin pie — the texture is just way too gloppy for me.)

The reason I’ve been hoarding pumpkins is that I’m currently obsessed with this Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon Soup.
I love it. It is so satisfying. There’s just something about the combination of roasted squash, bacon, bell pepper, and thyme that makes me swoon.
I've made it three times in the past three days.
I'm not ashamed to say that I could honestly eat this soup for dinner every night. Every.Night.
And I’ve done it, every night for the past three nights. Tonight it will be the fourth night in a row.
Talking about obsessions...

As you might have noticed, during winter my diet naturally shifts to eating more warming, cooked foods from the raw stuff that I eat during the summer.
It can get pretty darn cold ‘round here and I love nothing more than a thick nutritious soup to warm me from the inside out.
That being said, I almost always eat my cooked meals alongside something raw. Keeping the raw aspect strong when eating more cooked foods is a smart way to create a good balance of nutrients and textures.

Anyways, the secret of this recipe is in roasting the butternut squash, bell pepper, onions, and garlic with bacon, and then blending them right up.
The smoky bacon gives this soup a surprising depth of flavor, while the pumpkin gives it just the right hint of sweetness.
Don’t have time to cook during the week? This soup freezes great. You can freeze individual portions and pop ‘em in the microwave whenever you are in a rush.
But you need to try it because it's (almost) life-changing.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon Soup                                                                                Print this recipe!
Adapted from TheCrepesOfWrath

Ingredients
Serves 6

1 medium butternut squash (About 1 lb / 453 gr), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced sliced
4 slices of bacon, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon fine grain salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 ½ cups / 625 ml vegetable stock
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Crispy bacon, chopped chives, crumbled feta cheese for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C) and place a rack in the middle.
Lightly grease a baking sheet and place butternut squash chunks, quartered onion, diced red bell pepper, chopped bacon, and garlic cloves in a single layer.
Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring at halftime, until butternut squash is nicely roasted.
When ready, remove from the oven and peel garlic.
Transfer everything to a large pot, add thyme, stock, and puree with an immersion blender.
Place pot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 5 to 10 minutes, or until it starts to thicken.
If it’s too thick add more stock, ¼ cup at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.
Take a taste and adjust seasoning.
Serve garnished with some crispy bacon, chopped chives, and crumbled feta if desired.

Nutrition facts

One serving yields 126 calories, 9 grams of fat, 14 grams of carbs, and 7 grams of protein.