Can you believe that such a sweet vegetable could have such a crummy name?  But I’m here to testify that it is delicious, warts and all.  There is so much you can do with winter squashes – they are, of course, delicious simply baked seasoned with a little additional sweetener (maple syrup, agave, brown sugar, apple or orange juice), butter, salt, and pepper but they also can be made into fillings for sweet or savory pies and tarts, added to stews, made into gnocchi, used in place of pasta in lasagnas and other casserole-type dishes, and combined with grains for nutritious, inexpensive non-meat meals.

As the weather turns, I like to make soups that can be eaten hot or cold.  This curried soup is one of my favorites.  It has a wonderful depth of sweet flavor because the squash is first roasted before being turned into a puréed soup.

Curried Winter Squash Soup

Serves 6 to 8

One 4 to 5 pound winter squash

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup chopped onions

½ cup chopped shallots

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 tart apple, peeled, cored, and chopped

1 hot green chile, stemmed, seeded, and chopped

4 cups chicken stock or unsalted, nonfat chicken broth

1 cup fresh orange juice

2 tablespoons Madras curry powder

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup heavy cream, at room temperature (or chilled for cold soup)

Cilantro Chutney (recipe follows)

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

Scrub the squash clean and place it on a baking pan in the preheated oven.  Roast for about 1 hour or until the squash begins to fall into itself.  Remove from the oven and set aside until cool enough to handle.

While the squash is cooling, melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion, shallots, and garlic.  Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until the vegetables have softened.  Add the apple and chile along with the chicken stock, orange juice, curry powder, ginger, and orange zest.  Bring to a boil; then, lower the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes or until very aromatic.

Cut the roasted squash in half, lengthwise.  Remove the seeds and any strings.  If the skin is tender, use it.  If not, scrape the flesh from the skin and use only the roasted flesh.  Add the squash to the soup.  Season with salt and pepper and again bring to a simmer.  Simmer for 15 minutes.

Drain the soup through a fine mesh sieve, separately reserving the solids and liquid.

Place the solids in a blender – in batches, if necessary – and purée, adding liquid as needed to make a slightly thin purée.  (If serving cold, chill the soup in a ice bath and store, covered and refrigerated until ready to serve.  Stir in the cream just before serving).

Pour the purée into a clean saucepan and place over low heat.  Add the cream to the purée and cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes or until hot.

Remove from the heat, pour into shallow soup bowls, garnish with Cilantro Chutney and serve hot.