Pumpkin & Squash Autumn Soup

Originally published October 29, 2024, on Tumblr.

'Tis the season for autumnal dishes and treats! A few weeks ago, I had a delicious autumn harvest soup at a little mom and pop restaurant, and I just had to create one of my own. This recipe is the result! (You might've seen me #soup posting about it recently!)

This recipe makes a lot of soup! It can feed a crowd all at once, provide lunches all week long, or even be frozen for long-term soup enjoyment. Just be careful reheating!

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 Butternut Squash
• 1 Small Pumpkin
• 2 T Oil
• 1 T Honey
• 1 T Salt
• 1/2 Small Onion, diced
• 2 Cloves Garlic, diced
• Chicken or Vegetable Stock
• 1 1/2 c Apple Cider or Apple Juice
• 1/2 c Brown Sugar
• 2 T Cinnamon
• 2 t Allspice
• 1 t Salt
• 1/2 t Pepper
• Apple Cider for pureeing (optional)
• 3/4 c Heavy Cream

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Peel and halve the squash. Halve the pumpkin. Scoop the innards out of both gourds. Drizzle the cuts sides with oil and honey, then sprinkle with salt.
3. Lay the pumpkin cut side down and the squash cut side up on a lined baking sheet.
4. Roast for 45 to 50 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork.
5. Allow to cool slightly to avoid burning yourself. Peel the skin from the pumpkin, then cut both gourds into large cubes.
6. In a large soup pot, saute the onions and garlic until soft and translucent.
7. Add the pumpkin, squash, stock, cider, brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, salt, and pepper. Mix thoroughly.
8. Simmer gently for 15 to 20 minutes.
9. Allow the mixture to cool some, then puree in batches. If needed for a smoother puree, add 1 tablespoon of cider per batch.
10. Transfer the pureed soup to a clean pot. Stir in the heavy cream gradually.
11. Heat the soup gently over low heat. Do not allow it to boil.
12. Serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon and brown sugar and a drizzle of heavy cream.

Recipe Notes:

• If your stock is particularly oniony or garlicky, omit the onions and/or garlic. The soup will end up tasting of onions otherwise, and that's not the flavor profile we're looking for! If the stock isn't strongly flavored, you can use as much as 1 cup of stock; if you do, decrease the amount of cider or juice accordingly. The liquid should add up to about 2 cups.
• If you'd rather use milk than heavy cream, I would use no more than a cup. It should make the soup creamy but not watery or too loose -- this soup is meant to be quite thick! If you substitute with a non-dairy milk, I would suggest unflavored soy milk. Something with added flavors will change the soup's overall taste, possibly even overpowering the other ingredients.
• It's really important to let the pureed mixture cool before adding the heavy cream, and to bring the soup back up to serving temperature gently, without boiling! If you add it while the mixture is hot, it has a chance to curdle and break, ruining the soup's texture. Similarly, boiling the mixture with the cream in it can cause scorching. Be gentle in your reheating. If it becomes too thick due to evaporation, add a couple tablespoons of water or cider to loosen it.
• On that note, this recipe makes quite a bit of soup. When reheating leftovers, I recommend not using a microwave. Instead, I would reheat it on the stovetop. You can use a microwave, of course, but I would heat it in short increments, stirring in between to keep it from boiling in the microwave.
• This soup is on the sweeter side. It would make a solid companion to a salty sandwich or spicy salad. It would also go well with a savory biscuit like my rosemary biscuit recipe! If you'd prefer to have it be a little less sweet, you can reduce or completely omit the brown sugar.
• When you scoop the innards out of the pumpkin and squash, don't throw everything away! Separate out the seeds and give them a rinse and let them dry. Then, toss them in a light coating of oil and sprinkle some salt on them before roasting in an oven at 325 degrees F for about 15 minutes (stirring halfway through). Pumpkin and squash seeds make a tasty, crunchy snack! Or, you can use them to garnish your soup!
• Other spices you could add that would fit well include clove, nutmeg, and ginger. These flavors are ones you might recognize as being part of a pumpkin spice blend! If you would prefer, you could absolutely substitute a pre-mixed pumpkin spice blend for the cinnamon and allspice in this recipe.

Magic Notes:

• Pumpkin and squash are both emblematic of the autumn season where I'm from. They're classic harvest foods. I most often use them for abundance, gratitude, and reaping what I've sown. I'll also use them (particularly the seeds) to “replant” luck magic that lasts all year long. It lies gently dormant over the winter so that in the spring, it'll sprout and grow throughout the following year.
• Apples are another symbol of the autumn harvest where I live. I grew up harvesting them with my family, communing with the same orchard of trees since I could walk on my won. Each variety has its own particular energy. The cider I chose has a blend of apples, but it's primarily made with bright, sour-sweet, early-season apples. In general, I use apples for love of all types, joy, and health. Cider also often has spices in it, but this orchard makes their cider without. I prefer it that way so that I can control the flavor and magic impact more closely.
• Speaking of spices, we're adding cinnamon and allspice to this recipe. Both are warm, fiery spices. I tend to use cinnamon as a sort of “battery” to give spells a bit of get-up-and-go. Allspice is a spice I frequently use for general good luck purposes and the sort of warmth you'd find near a hearth fire. It's a comforting, soothing sort of luck.
• Brown sugar is brown because of the molasses in it. Molasses is sweet, but it's sticky and slow. I tend to use brown sugar for a gentler, slow-burn sort of affection. I find that it lasts longer than white sugar's effects, but it does also tend to be on the subtler side.
• The primary magic in this recipe is in the sharing. If you're using whole gourds, you're going to end up with a lot of soup. I would strongly suggest directly serving this to others, speaking or thinking a short incantation, blessing, or prayer over each individual bowl to bring that person prosperity and comfort for the upcoming cold season. Serve yourself last, wishing yourself the same.
• As with many of my other recipes, a cup of this soup makes a wonderful autumnal offering for a spirit altar. Pair it with a cup of warmed cider, salty biscuit, and chocolate dessert, and you've got a really solid dumb supper.
• This recipe can have any number of magical effects, depending on what you choose to focus on. My top suggestions are: gratitude, love (familial and platonic, in particular), joy, and luck.