Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon

Have I ever told you all how great you are? You’ve stuck with me all this time! It’s amazing, really, that you come for (mostly) healthy recipes, and yet there are times that I forget I’m a dietitian, subject you to my Seuss-like food poetry, do weird things to bacon, and require you to read the Longest Post Ever in order to get to the cake. What a swell bunch of readers and friends! Because of that, and so much more, I’m going to give you a little present today.

No drivel. No roundabout path to the pot o’ gold. No pointless stories with only a tenuous link to the food. Just straight to the recipe.  Ain’t that grand?

Besides, there is no story because not a soul in my house will touch this soup. They all have what I would call a bad attitude about butternut squash. So, aside from a small serving I shared with my mum, I ate the whole batch myself.  {burp}.  It’s all good. No, really, it was all good 🙂

Now, let’s get to it. Any recipe title that ends in “bacon” needs to be got to toot-sweet!

Chef’s Notes: Simplify prep by buying the squash already peeled and halved (I did!). The celery leaves are entirely optional. Coconut milk is thick and creamy. Be sure to use 100% coconut milk, not ‘coconut milk beverage’ – a thinner, and completely unacceptable substitute. Trust me on this 😉

Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon
Inspired by my pal Michelle
Serves 5-6

Prep time: 75 minutes (includes roasting veggies)     Cook time: 15 minutes

1 whole butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and halved
1 sweet onion (like Vidalia) — peeled and quartered
1 cup light coconut milk
2 cups lowfat, reduced sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup loosely packed chopped celery leaves
4 slices bacon, cooked crisp
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper (or more!)

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Treat a baking sheet with spray oil. Arrange the squash and onions on the baking sheet, cut sides down. Roast for approximately 45 minutes, until the squash is fork tender at its thickest point. The onions will likely be done before that – remove them when they are softened and before the edges darken too much.

2) Put the cooked squash and onions, coconut milk, chicken broth, and celery leaves in the bowl of your food processor. Process until the entire mixture is smooth — about 3-4 minutes.

3) Transfer soup mixture to a saucepan, and heat  over medium heat, just until the edges begin to bubble. Add salt and pepper, adjust seasonings as needed.

4) Serve with bacon crumbled over the top.