Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups winter squash (kabocha, butternut or acorn), chopped
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic, chopped
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • Pinch of cayenne (more if you like it spicy)

Topping:

  • 1 head of roasted garlic
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh sage
  • Before you get started with the soup, put the garlic in the oven to roast.

Directions:

How to Roast a Garlic:

  1. Heat oven to 400.
  2. Remove the outer skin and cut the top off the garlic (root side down), so the cloves are exposed.
  3. Drizzle olive oil on the garlic cloves so a little bit of oil gets on each exposed clove. You can also add a little salt and pepper, if you want. Wrap the whole head of garlic in tin foil.
  4. Put the foil-wrapped garlic into a baking dish.
  5. Cook at 400 for about 45 mins, or until the garlic cloves are golden brown in color. You may need a little less or a little more time. You’ll have to unwrap the foil a little bit to peek in.
  6. When the garlic is done, you can use a little paring knife to remove each clove, or squeeze the cloves out of their skin with your fingers once it’s cooled down.

For the soup:

  1. Put 1 tbsp olive oil, onion and garlic into large soup pot and heat on medium heat for 5-10 mins, until onion/garlic are tender and fragrant.
  2. Add chopped squash, sea salt, pepper, cayenne and enough water to just cover the vegetables (about 6 cups)
  3. Bring water to a boil and then simmer on medium/low for 30 minutes or until squash is tender.

For the crispy sage:

  1. Put a drizzle of oil, a pinch of sea salt, and the sage into a pan. Saute on medium for a few minutes – just until sage begins to get slightly crispy. Be careful not to let the sage burn. Remove from heat and set aside.
  2. When squash is tender, pour entire soup mixture into blender. Blend until smooth.
  3. Pour soup into bowls. Top each bowl with a few cloves of roasted garlic and a bunch of crispy sage.
  4. Enjoy!