Sometimes basic is best, as with this simple roasted kabocha squash soup flavored with sage mushrooms. Inspired by all of the beautiful and interesting winter squash that we’ve seen on our recent trips to local farms and pumpkin patches, this soup satisfies my craving for warm comfort foods now that the chilly fall temperatures are here to stay for a while. Kabocha squash, also known as the Japanese pumpkin, is a winter squash with sweet, golden flesh that is delicious when simply roasted and plain. But its fluffy texture also lends itself perfectly to making soups.
Inspired by some of my past roasted veggie/fruit soups {pumpkin soup, curried carrot soup and roasted tomato soup} I simply roasted the kabocha squash to make this nutritious soup that just screams autumn to me. The sage-roasted mushrooms and onion give the soup a nice richness and depth of flavor. Next time I plan to make extra sage-roasted mushrooms so that I can garnish the soup with the chopped mushrooms. Served with spinach rolls, this soup was a light yet comforting way to end a chilly fall day. If you don’t have kobacha, use the squash/pumpkin of your choice.
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 kabocha squash (roughly 3 pounds)
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 cup sliced brown mushrooms (roughly 5 mushrooms)
- 2 carrots, sliced, optional
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sage, to taste
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- Slice the squash in half, place the halves on a baking pan, drizzle them with a tiny bit of olive oil and sprinkle them with salt.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes, or until the squash meat is tender when cut with a knife.
- Place the rest of the veggies on a roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and sage.
- Bake in the oven at 400 degrees until the veggies are tender, stirring often.
- *You can also saute the veggies on the stove top.
- To do so, heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat and cook the onions, carrots and garlic for 5-10 minutes or until they are starting to become tender and the onions are translucent.
- Add ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp black pepper and ¼ tsp sage.
- Stir in the sliced mushrooms and continue cooking the veggies until they are tender.
- Remove the veggies from the heat and let them cool until they can be blended in the blender.
- Add roughly 2 cups of chicken broth in the blender and then add the squash, blending all of the veggies into a smooth mix.
- Pour the squash-veggie puree back into the large pan and let simmer on medium heat.
- Add the remaining chicken broth and season the soup to taste with the remaining salt, black pepper and sage.
