Roasted Red Pepper & Pumpkin Soup

This is a delicious and warming soup that is easy to prepare from just a few ingredients. I’ve pared down this recipe in the decade or so that I’ve been making it, and through all its iterations, it’s still one of my favorite soups ever. Kabocha is naturally sweet, and you can leave skin on, making it a great little squash to work with.

You can also use red kuri, butternut, or acorn squash, too – but all these will need to be peeled before cooking. Roasting the red peppers brings out a smokey sweetness, and the sage helps bring it all together and taste quintessentially fall-ish. Enjoy the coziness, friends.

Roasted Red Pepper & Kabocha Soup

2 medium red peppers, diced
1 cup thinly sliced onions
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Pinch salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne
Handful of fresh sage leaves (about 1/4 cup chopped), or 1 tsp dry rubbed sage
3 cups kabocha pumpkin, or other sweet squash, skinned and chopped
1 medium white potato, diced 3 cups water to cook

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. Add red pepper, onions, and garlic to a large bowl. Add in the olive oil, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and toss until veggies are well coated. Pour into a 9×13 baking pan or onto a baking sheet, and bake for 20 minutes.
3. Remove peppers from oven and add the sage. Stir to combine, and bake for another 5-10 minutes, until the sage is wilted and peppers are just starting to blacken. Remove from oven and let cool.
4. Meanwhile, add pumpkin and potatoes to a large stockpot with enough water to cover and boil for about 15-20 minutes. When fork-tender, drain, reserving the cooking water, and set aside.
5. When the pepper mix is finished cooling, add to the food processor or blender along with pumpkin and potatoes. Blend with 1 cup of the reserved cooking water until totally smooth, blending in batches and adding more liquid if necessary. You can use less water for a thicker soup, or add more for a thinner soup.
6. Return to stockpot, then simmer over low heat for 10 minutes to let the flavors meld. Add more salt/pepper/cayenne to taste.
7. This soup keeps for a few days in the fridge, and it freezes well, too.

Yield: about 6 cups soup