You can halve the butternut squash and roast it until it's really soft and getting all sorts of gorgeous caramelisation, then scoop out the flesh and puree it in some chicken or vegetable stock with the seasoning of your choice (sage and onion are traditional), then you'll have a really yummy soup. You can swirl a little cream into it, if you do dairy.
I like to use roasted butternut squash and roasted sweet potato in an African peanut soup. I modified the recipe below, replacing carrot and boiled sweet potato with roasted squash and sweet potato, reducing the tomato juice and peanut butter to taste (a cup might be too much!)
WEST AFRICAN PEANUT SOUP
(from "Sundays at the Moosewood Restaurant")
2 cups chopped onion
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp cayenne or other ground chiles
1 tsp grated peeled fresh ginger
1 cup chopped carrots
2 cups chopped sweet potatoes
4 cups vegetable stock or water
2 cups tomato juice
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 Tbsp sugar
chopped scallions
chopped roasted peanuts
Sauté onion in oil until it is transluscent.
Stir in cayenne and ginger. Add carrots and
sauté a couple minutes more. Mix in potatoes
and stock, bring to a boil, simmer 15 minutes
(until the vegetables are tender). Puree the
vegetables with tomato juice (and some of the
cooking liquid if necessary) in a blender or
food processor. Return the puree to the pot.
Stir in the peanut butter until smooth. Check
sweetness and add sugar if necessary. Reheat
gently, using a heat difuser if necessary to
prevent scorching. Add more water, stock, or
tomato juice to make a thinner soup if
desired. Serve topped with plenty of chopped
scallions and chopped roasted peanuts.
Serves 6-8
