BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP – a Thanksgiving tradition

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Hi there,

I dearly love my daughter-in-law, Hillary. She has many, many, fine qualities and has been a wonderful addition to our family. I say this with all sincerity and not just because when she joined our family she took on the job of preparing and hosting Thanksgiving Dinner.

In all seriousness, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. The food is completely in my wheelhouse and the part about not exchanging a present pushes the holiday to the top of my favorite’s list.

When Hillary prepares Thanksgiving Dinner she starts with the most delicious butternut squash soup that she has adapted from the Moosewood Kitchen. Dom doesn’t just like this soup, he adores it. He eats so much of it that he rarely makes it to the dessert course. He also makes sure that he takes home a generous container of the soup for the weekend.

If you have time to add this to your Thanksgiving menu, it will really be worth the effort. It has a slightly spicy taste that sets it apart from the usual sweet Butternut Squash soup recipe.

HILLARY’S BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

“Thanksgiving dinners take 18 hours to prepare. They are consumed in 12 minutes. Half-times take 12 minutes. This is not a coincidence.” Erma Bombeck

Ingredients:

  • 2 medium-sized acorn or butternut squash (about 4 pounds)
  • A little oil for the baking tray.
  • 3 1/2 cups orange juice
  • 2 tablespoons butter or oil
  • 1 cup minced onion
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons dry mustard
  • Cayenne to taste
  • Fresh lemon juice to taste

Preparation:

  • Melt the butter or heat the oil in a skillet, and add the onion, ginger, salt, and spices. Sauté over medium heat until the onion is very soft (about 8 minutes). Add a few tablespoons of water, if necessary to prevent the spices from sticking.
  • Preheat oven to 375°F. Split the squash in half lengthwise, remove the seeds, and place face-down on a lightly oiled baking tray. Bake until very soft (30 to 40 minutes). Cool, then scoop out the insides.
  • Add the sauté to the squash mixture, scraping the skillet well to salvage all the little tidbits of flavor. Add cayenne and lemon juice to taste. Measure out 3 cups of squash, place it in a food processor or blender with 1 1/2 cups of the orange juice, and purée until smooth. (You may need to do this in batches.) Transfer to a soup pot, and stir in the remaining orange juice.
  • Serve topped with pepitas and a dollop of yogurt if desired.

Thank you Hillary for making this a Laganella family tradition.

50 responses to “BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP – a Thanksgiving tradition”

  1. I love this soup but must admit I haven’t had any in a while. I think I need to rectify that. Enjoy Hilary’s dinner presentation. It doesn’t get much better than that.

  2. Phil – I'm a photographer & self-taught graphic artist with a penchant for all things creative, featuring an eclectic collection of unusually imaginative designs available through various print-on-demand galleries. Enjoy a look around my portfolio, categories and blog, and also follow me on Twitter for more updates – thanks!
    Phil says:

    Your butternut squash soup looks delicious, Bernadette ~ thanks for sharing 🤗

      • Phil – I'm a photographer & self-taught graphic artist with a penchant for all things creative, featuring an eclectic collection of unusually imaginative designs available through various print-on-demand galleries. Enjoy a look around my portfolio, categories and blog, and also follow me on Twitter for more updates – thanks!
        Phil says:

        You’re most welcome, Bernadette. Thanks, same to you. 🙂

  3. What a lovely story of family tradition. And the recipe is the cherry on top. Todd and I love butternut squash soup. I will definitely try this. Thank you Bern.❤️

  4. Darlene – British Columbia, Canada – Writer of children's stories, short stories and travel articles. https://twitter.com/#!/supermegawoman http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=201634059868404&id=631897250&ref=notif&notif_t=like#!/pages/Darlene-Foster-Writer/362236842733
    Darlene says:

    This looks like the best Butternut Soup ever. How lucky to have a daughter-in-law willing to make Thanksgiving dinner. Enjoy!

  5. Chef Mimi – As a self-taught home cook, with many years in the culinary profession, I am passionate about all things food-related. Especially eating!
    chef mimi says:

    I love the ingredient list of this soup. I question the cinnamon, only because I’m one who doesn’t feel that brown sugar and cinnamon are required when preparing a squash or sweet potato dish… I have used o.j. Before and also apple cider and they’re both a wonderful addition to a soup.

  6. Dorothy's New Vintage Kitchen – I'm a writer, cook, gardener, photographer, poet, quilter, and accomplished daydreamer. I'm also a wife, mother, grandmother, sister. cousin, aunt, and friend, no particular order on any given day. I've been a writer all my life, newspaper reporter and columnist, radio news writer, and magazine contributor, and poet and short-story writer as the spirit moves. Now, I turn my attention to my cookbook, the blog, and a cooking column "Memorable Meals," which runs in our county newspaper. Besides my family, I love dogs, cats, good coffee, chocolate, and my never-dwindling pile of books I intend to read. Our family ran a small Vermont Inn for 18 years, with our focus on local, organic ingredients. I cook from scratch, and try not to use anything that has ingredients I cannot pronounce! After many years of daily serving up local delicacies, cooking classes, and catering, we are now only open for special events, and the odd cooking class. We also host musicians and artists, having helped produce a musical festival and other musical events for nearly 20 years. Many incredible artists have found a place at our table. Wonderful experiences, we will treasure always. My family and friends are my practice subjects. With a family that includes nut, peanut, tree fruit, and vegetable allergies, gluten intolerance, dairy intolerance, vegetarians, vegans, heart conscious, and a couple of picky eaters, there has to be a few quick tricks in the book to keep everyone fed and happy! Personally, I do not eat red meat or most full-fat dairy (usually) for health reasons, making the occasional exception at Thanksgiving and Christmas or our anniversary if the duck is locally raised. I do eat fish and seafood, so I try to come up with alternatives and substitutions when available. I serve local organic eggs and cheeses to my family who can tolerate dairy (My husband recently had a heart attack, and I need to watch my own cholesterol so I am careful, but have been known to let a little piece of really good cheese accidentally fall on my plate!). I believe strongly that eating in a way that is good for our planet is also good for our bodies, and I try to educated myself about our food sources! I cook by the seasons and draw on inspiration from the strong and talented women in my family who came before me, as well as the youth in the family who look at the world with fresh eyes. Food links us all, whether sharing a meal, cooking it together, or writing about it for others to enjoy. I love taking an old recipe and giving it a modern spin, especially if I can make it a littler healthier and use foods that are kinder to the Earth and to our bodies. I believe strongly in sustainable, delicious eating of whole foods, and the wonderful flavors we have at our fingertips! And finally, I love conversing with all the talented cooks and chefs out there who dot the globe! It's a wonderful, world full of culinary pen pals, and I cherish them all! XXXOOO Dorothy
    Dorothy’s New Vintage Kitchen says:

    Oh I remember this soup, and it is indeed a keeper! Love the orange and all the spices in it!

  7. Jacqui Murray – Laguna Hills, CA. – Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular prehistoric fiction saga, Man vs. Nature which explores seminal events in man’s evolution one trilogy at a time. She is also the author of the Rowe-Delamagente thrillers and Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. Her non-fiction includes over a hundred books on integrating tech into education, reviews as an Amazon Vine Voice, and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics. Look for her next prehistoric fiction, Savage Land.
    Jacqui Murray says:

    I want that.

  8. Time Traveler of Life – Where my Motor Home is! – Biography Creating worlds, characters, and wielding power like a madwoman, making my characters happy, sad, angry, and some of them with no redeeming qualities. I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I sometimes laugh out loud when I am writing a scene, and I have been known to cry when one of my favorites has to die. I am a left-handed Gemini, what do you expect? Reading bedtime stories to my two children until they fell asleep or until they just told me to go away, was fun. Making up wild stories for my grandchild, and creating Halloween costumes from Cowboys to a Dragon, was another favorite thing to do. I missed that so much when they were grown, that I started writing. My yearly newsletters frequently were drafted third-person by my Love Birds, Miranda our motorhome, and by Sir Fit the White Knight, our faithful Honda. Throughout the years, some of my creative talents centered around writing letters of complaint expressing my displeasure with services or products. One crucial, at least to my Son, was a note to our local school bus driver petitioning her to allow him back on the bus. He was kicked off for making an obscene gesture at his buddy. I reminded her that it was not directed at her, and that “obscenity can be in the eye of the beholder,” kids use that gesture as a greeting. He rode the bus until he graduated. I loved driving my English teacher crazy. Leaving a “continued next week” at the end of my five handwritten pages required each week. He was one of many people that suggested I “do something about my writing.” I graduated from the School of Hard Knocks at the top of my class. After 30 years, in the trenches as a Real Estate Professional, I have found that truth is stranger than fiction. My books are filled with characters I met in that profession. Their names were changed to protect the guilty. Others were from people we met traveling around the country in Miranda, our Motorhome. I am married nearly 60 years to the love of my life, Shirl, and partner-produced two exceptionally talented children, and one grandchild who is our pride and joy.
    Time Traveler of Life says:

    It sounds absolutely wonderful, but 18 hours! Your daughter-in-law is truly a treasure! Not in my wildest dreams will I try to accomplish this. But I would travel to your house to sample it! Thanks for posting.

      • Time Traveler of Life – Where my Motor Home is! – Biography Creating worlds, characters, and wielding power like a madwoman, making my characters happy, sad, angry, and some of them with no redeeming qualities. I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I sometimes laugh out loud when I am writing a scene, and I have been known to cry when one of my favorites has to die. I am a left-handed Gemini, what do you expect? Reading bedtime stories to my two children until they fell asleep or until they just told me to go away, was fun. Making up wild stories for my grandchild, and creating Halloween costumes from Cowboys to a Dragon, was another favorite thing to do. I missed that so much when they were grown, that I started writing. My yearly newsletters frequently were drafted third-person by my Love Birds, Miranda our motorhome, and by Sir Fit the White Knight, our faithful Honda. Throughout the years, some of my creative talents centered around writing letters of complaint expressing my displeasure with services or products. One crucial, at least to my Son, was a note to our local school bus driver petitioning her to allow him back on the bus. He was kicked off for making an obscene gesture at his buddy. I reminded her that it was not directed at her, and that “obscenity can be in the eye of the beholder,” kids use that gesture as a greeting. He rode the bus until he graduated. I loved driving my English teacher crazy. Leaving a “continued next week” at the end of my five handwritten pages required each week. He was one of many people that suggested I “do something about my writing.” I graduated from the School of Hard Knocks at the top of my class. After 30 years, in the trenches as a Real Estate Professional, I have found that truth is stranger than fiction. My books are filled with characters I met in that profession. Their names were changed to protect the guilty. Others were from people we met traveling around the country in Miranda, our Motorhome. I am married nearly 60 years to the love of my life, Shirl, and partner-produced two exceptionally talented children, and one grandchild who is our pride and joy.
        Time Traveler of Life says:

        We are from the East so…

  9. debrapurdykong – British Columbia, Canada – I'm a British Columbia author who's been writing for over 30 years. My volunteer experiences, criminology diploma, and security work inspired me to write the Casey Holland transit security novels set in Metro Vancouver. I'm also a part-time facilitator in Creative Writing Workshops through Port Moody's Recreation program. Feel free to contact me at dpurdykong@gmail.com
    debrapurdykong says:

    Sounds delicious!

  10. the Painted Apron – Life is all about creativity for me, as long as I'm creating something I am happy! I hope I will inspire your daily life and give you ideas for your own wonderful creations!
    the Painted Apron says:

    This soup sounds wonderful Bernadette, I love the base of orange juice. What a lovely Thanksgiving tradition!
    Jenna

  11. This soup sounds amazing and I’m going to try it this week for sure! My own squash soup recipe is boring me; I’ve always made it with apples and cream and lately it seems quite sweet. The orange juice and spices Hillary has combined are an inspired twist for sure! It warms the heart to read of your affection for your daughter-in-law, and I like the Erma quote, too! 😉

  12. I love a nice bowl of soup for lunch and this one sounds very comforting and delicious for this time of the year.

  13. pumpkin soup is a big thing here in winter, and all the cafes serve it then. If I have to eat it (sorry not a fan) i prefer an asian version with fresh coriander and chilli and those sorts of flavours. oops sorry sounds a bit negative. I am sure Hillary’s version is a tasty one, and i like the addition of ginger to it.

  14. Time Traveler of Life – Where my Motor Home is! – Biography Creating worlds, characters, and wielding power like a madwoman, making my characters happy, sad, angry, and some of them with no redeeming qualities. I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I sometimes laugh out loud when I am writing a scene, and I have been known to cry when one of my favorites has to die. I am a left-handed Gemini, what do you expect? Reading bedtime stories to my two children until they fell asleep or until they just told me to go away, was fun. Making up wild stories for my grandchild, and creating Halloween costumes from Cowboys to a Dragon, was another favorite thing to do. I missed that so much when they were grown, that I started writing. My yearly newsletters frequently were drafted third-person by my Love Birds, Miranda our motorhome, and by Sir Fit the White Knight, our faithful Honda. Throughout the years, some of my creative talents centered around writing letters of complaint expressing my displeasure with services or products. One crucial, at least to my Son, was a note to our local school bus driver petitioning her to allow him back on the bus. He was kicked off for making an obscene gesture at his buddy. I reminded her that it was not directed at her, and that “obscenity can be in the eye of the beholder,” kids use that gesture as a greeting. He rode the bus until he graduated. I loved driving my English teacher crazy. Leaving a “continued next week” at the end of my five handwritten pages required each week. He was one of many people that suggested I “do something about my writing.” I graduated from the School of Hard Knocks at the top of my class. After 30 years, in the trenches as a Real Estate Professional, I have found that truth is stranger than fiction. My books are filled with characters I met in that profession. Their names were changed to protect the guilty. Others were from people we met traveling around the country in Miranda, our Motorhome. I am married nearly 60 years to the love of my life, Shirl, and partner-produced two exceptionally talented children, and one grandchild who is our pride and joy.
    Time Traveler of Life says:

    It might be a while before we travel back east, but…

  15. Retirement Reflections – Vancouver Island, BC – Prior to retirement, I lived and worked in Beijing China for fourteen years (Middle School Principal/Deputy Director at The Western Academy of Beijing). Leaving international life behind, my husband and I retired to Vancouver Island in June 2015. To document both this transition and our new adventures, ‘Retirement Reflections’ was born. I hope that you enjoy reading these reflections, and will be willing to share your own.
    Retirement Reflections says:

    Yum, this looks delicious, Bernadette. The rain pouring down outside of my window, plus the snow falling down my computer screen makes me in the mood to enjoy this soup right now. Thank you for sharing it.

  16. This looks so delicious, Bernadette. I can’t wait to try it. I love the addition of ginger.

    It sounds like you are also a wonderful MIL (that’s what I call my Mother-in-Law). Enjoy your Thanksgiving!

  17. 🐋Beach House🐋 – Surfing, SUP, Swimming, Ocean, Animals, Baking, Marinelife, Family, Good sleep, and Nature 🌏 The beauty of Nature, the cuteness of animals, breathtaking moments, extraordinary wildlife… I take pictures, film whatever touches my heart, and love to share with people in the world. visit my website: https://beachhouse.blog subscribe to my YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDawiafJg2w0t1dVcI3e6Zw
    Beach House🌊🌈 says:

    I love the creamy BUTTERNUT SQUASH soup 😍😻

  18. EvelynKrieger – I'm a people watcher and word crafter, author of fiction and essays. I also blog on living the creative life during hard times. When not writing, I work as a private educational consultant. Special interests: dance, the moon, astronauts, beaches, poetry, staying alive.
    Evelyn C Krieger says:

    I love butternut squash soup. I have never tried adding orange Juice or coriander. Thanks for the recipe.

  19. Even-though it is not Thanksgiving, I just discovered your blog and this recipe which looks amazing. I make a similar recipe, but I am going to try yours. Beautiful presentation too.

  20. I love acorn squash and this soup is a keeper! Something tells me your wonderful daughter in law makes a lot of extra soup just for you two!

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