Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

October. Fellowship application submitted. Now I wait, which is the part I have the least skill for. I have been filling the waiting with cooking and reading and extra hours at the daycare with Lily, who has begun to eat food immediately when it is given to her. Last week she brought me a cracker and held it up for me to eat. I ate it. She watched me eat it and then ate her own cracker. That is an enormous thing. She has decided that this is a safe place to share.

I have been making a lot of roasted vegetables lately, which is October cooking: whatever is at the farmers market, cubed and tossed with olive oil and salt and roasted at high heat until caramelized. This week: butternut squash, red onion, beets, sweet potato. The apartment smells like fall every time the oven is on. Biscuit comes in from whatever sun patch she has claimed and sits near the oven and absorbs warmth and watches me work. We have a good dynamic, Biscuit and I. She keeps her opinions but she is present. That is enough.

Called Keisha this week, a real phone call not just texts, and we talked for ninety minutes. She is doing well in Nashville, liking the city, running a two-year-old room at a daycare there. She said she has been reading the blog every week. She said: your writing is different now. I said: different how. She said: more sure of itself. Like you know it is worth reading. I said: that took a while. She said: I know. But it is there now.

The butternut squash and sweet potato were already on the counter from my farmers market run, earmarked for my usual high-heat roast, but this week I wanted something I could hold in a bowl — something with more weight to it. Turning those same vegetables into soup felt right for the kind of waiting October asks of you: slow, warm, something that fills the apartment with a smell that says you are here, this is enough. Biscuit approved. So did I.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 40 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 medium butternut squash (about 2 lbs), peeled, seeded, and cubed
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups vegetable broth (low sodium)
1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk or heavy cream
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Fresh thyme or pumpkin seeds for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Roast the vegetables. Preheat oven to 400°F. Spread the cubed butternut squash and sweet potato on a large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, season with a pinch of salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Roast for 25–30 minutes, flipping once halfway, until tender and caramelized at the edges.
Sauté the aromatics. While the vegetables roast, warm the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5–6 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more until fragrant.
Add spices. Stir in the cumin, smoked paprika, and nutmeg. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly, to bloom the spices.
Combine and simmer. Add the roasted squash and sweet potato to the pot. Pour in the vegetable broth and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Cook for 10 minutes to let the flavors come together.
Blend until smooth. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup directly in the pot until completely smooth. Alternatively, carefully transfer in batches to a blender and blend, then return to the pot. Stir in the coconut milk or cream.
Taste and adjust. Season with additional salt and pepper as needed. If the soup is thicker than you like, add broth a splash at a time until it reaches your preferred consistency.
Serve. Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh thyme leaves or toasted pumpkin seeds if desired. Serve warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup — What the Oven Holds While You Wait