Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Goat Cheese and Bacon

1. Put diced bacon pieces in a large pot over medium heat. Cook until fat has rendered and bacon is crispy, about 7–10 minutes.

2. Remove cooked bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Leave the bacon fat in the pot over medium heat.

3. Add chopped onion and garlic to bacon fat and stir to combine. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent and slightly browned, about 4 minutes.

4. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Add a splash of stock to the pan to deglaze, and scrape up any browned bits with a wooden spoon or stiff spatula. Add the rest of the stock and stir to combine. Bring mixture up to a simmer.

6. When soup is simmering, stir in butternut squash puree and bring the mixture back up to a simmer.

7. Remove soup from heat and blend with an immersion blender until smooth.

8. Add goat cheese to soup and stir until cheese has melted.

9. Add milk to soup and stir to combine. I like to use my immersion blender one more time here and blend until all milk and goat cheese are completely incorporated and the soup is smooth and velvety.

10. Ladle soup into individual bowls and top with a sprinkling of goat cheese, a handful of the bacon you cooked at the beginning of the recipe, and a sprig of parsley. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Notes:
1. I roast a butternut squash every few weeks, puree it, and keep it in the fridge to use as needed for recipes like these! I love having roasted squash on demand for soups, risotto, and pasta sauces. To make your own puree, halve a large butternut squash and scoop out the seeds. Place cut-side down on a baking sheet and bake at 400ºF for 30–45 minutes or until squash is easily pierced with a fork. Let cool, then scrape roasted squash into the bowl of a food processor and give it a good whirl to blend it into a puree. Store in fridge for up to a week and use as needed for recipes like this one.
2. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can blend soup in a regular blender.
3. If the soup is too thick, add a little more milk to thin it out. Too thin? Blend in a scoop of roasted butternut squash to thicken it up.
4. To make this soup vegetarian, omit bacon from recipe and instead sauté onions and garlic in a drizzle of olive oil. To make it vegan, omit goat cheese as well and substitute almond or coconut milk for the milk in the recipe.