Roasted squash for curry soup

Today looks like this:

So it’s time for another fire and to use the heat for cooking something. This time it is butternut squash that we grew and are going to turn into a curry soup. To start with, I need my matching pairs of sheet pans. Into each pan goes:

• Olive oil drizzled in the bottom of the pan
• Seeded, peeled, chopped winter squash
• A chopped onion
• A bulb of garlic, each clove crushed under the side of a knife, peeled, and the end cut off

The onion and garlic go in between the chunks of squash, toward the center of the pan, so they are less likely to burn. I make sure every piece is in contact with the bottom of the pan (a single layer of veggies). Next I sprinkle seasonings on them:

• Some kosher salt
• Dried red pepper
• Cumin
• Curry powder

I cover with a matching sheet pan (makes a convenient lid and is reusable forever, unlike foil)

Then I slide it into the oven for roasting. This is when it is handy to have sheet pans which can hang directly on the oven brackets (no need to deal with racks). Every few hours I will rotate the pans, since the uppermost one is exposed to heat directly from the firebox above.

This takes a long time. It requires planning ahead, but is otherwise very easy because I can do all kinds of other things in the meantime. This takes so long that the pets may also end up roasted and melted into untidy puddles around the front of the stove.

Epilogue: Once the juices started caramelizing, I put the veggies in a pot, deglazed the pans with a little hot water, added some more liquids (broths left over from other projects, plus some more hot water), and pureed everything with an immersion blender. Done!

I served it with a dollop of Greek yogurt, to offset the heat from the peppers that sort of sneaks up on you. 🌶