Chipotle Butternut Squash Soup with Chorizo -- When Hartford Earns Its Keep

October in Hartford. The leaves are turning and I will admit, grudgingly, that Connecticut does one thing better than Puerto Rico, and that one thing is autumn. Bayamon does not have autumn. Bayamon has hot and slightly less hot. Hartford has this thing where the trees set themselves on fire with color — red and orange and gold — and the air gets crisp and smells like apples and woodsmoke and the promise of soup weather, and for a few weeks, for just a few October weeks, I forgive Hartford for January and February and March, which are unforgivable months in an unforgivable climate.

I have been cooking fall food all week. Calabaza soup — Caribbean pumpkin blended smooth with coconut milk and a pinch of nutmeg. Mami made this when the weather turned cool in Bayamon, which in Bayamon meant it dropped below eighty, which in Hartford means we are having a heat wave, but the soup is the same and the feeling is the same: something warm in a bowl that tells your body the seasons are changing and you should pay attention.

At the hospital, we had a staff potluck. Every floor brings something. My cafeteria team brought arroz con gandules, because I am not sending my people to a potluck with a store-bought vegetable tray like amateurs. The ER team brought pizza. The surgical team brought subs. My arroz con gandules was gone in fifteen minutes. The pizza lasted two hours. I am not keeping score. I am simply noting the facts.

Jenny came to Sunday dinner and brought apple cider. Apple cider. This is progress, mi amor. She has moved from boxed brownies to seasonal beverages, and seasonal beverages are appropriate and inoffensive and show awareness of the calendar, which I appreciate. I poured the cider into my good glasses and served it with the meal and I said, Thank you, Jenny, this is nice. She looked like I had given her a medal. Miguel Jr. mouthed thank you at me from across the table. I nodded. I am trying. We are all trying.

Called Mami. She said the weather in Bayamon is eighty-five degrees and she is sitting on the porch with Ana drinking cafe. I said the weather in Hartford is fifty-eight degrees and beautiful. She said, Fifty-eight is not beautiful. Fifty-eight is punishment. I said, Mami, you have never experienced a New England autumn. She said, I have never experienced a root canal either and I do not feel the lack. My mother, ladies and gentlemen. Seventy-nine years of pure Puerto Rican stubbornness. I come by it honestly.

I talked about Mami’s calabaza soup up above, and I meant every word — but here is the thing about living in Hartford for twenty-some years: you start to let the season do what it wants with you, and what October wanted this week was butternut squash, chorizo, and enough chipotle to remind my taste buds that warm does not have to mean bland. This soup is what happens when a Puerto Rican woman looks at a New England farmers market and decides to negotiate. The squash is Hartford’s. The chorizo and the smoke are mine. It is, I think, a fair arrangement.

Chipotle Butternut Squash Soup with Chorizo

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

Ingredients

• 1 medium butternut squash (about 3 lbs), peeled, seeded, and cubed
• 8 oz fresh Mexican chorizo, casings removed
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced, plus 1 tbsp adobo sauce
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup full-fat coconut milk
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Sour cream or crema, for serving
• Fresh cilantro, roughly chopped, for garnish
• Toasted pepitas, for garnish

Instructions

1. Brown the chorizo. Heat a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chorizo and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until browned and cooked through, about 5–6 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the chorizo to a paper-towel-lined plate and set aside. Leave about 1 tbsp of the rendered fat in the pot; drain any excess.
2. Soften the aromatics. Reduce heat to medium. Add the olive oil if the pot looks dry, then add the diced onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more, until fragrant.
3. Add the spices and chipotles. Stir in the minced chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, cumin, smoked paprika, and nutmeg. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly, to bloom the spices.
4. Add squash and broth. Add the cubed butternut squash and pour in the chicken broth. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a steady simmer. Cover and cook until the squash is completely tender and easily pierced with a fork, about 20–25 minutes.
5. Blend until smooth. Remove the pot from heat. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup directly in the pot until completely smooth. Alternatively, carefully transfer the soup in batches to a countertop blender (vent the lid and hold it down with a folded towel). Return the blended soup to the pot.
6. Finish with coconut milk. Stir in the coconut milk and return the pot to low heat. Warm gently for 3–5 minutes; do not boil. Taste and adjust salt, pepper, and chipotle heat to your liking.
7. Serve and garnish. Ladle into bowls and top each with a portion of the reserved chorizo, a drizzle of crema, a scatter of toasted pepitas, and fresh cilantro. Serve immediately with crusty bread or warm tortillas alongside.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 310 | Protein: 13g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 26g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 620mg