Smoked Butternut Squash Soup. Awesome on a cold Winter's Day.

Start of with one butternut squash. skinn it and cut into cubes about 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 inches. Set them in large foil pan or you can make a tray out of some foil. Set the pan in your smoker and give the squash a good dose of smoke. These were in for 1 1/2 hours. Any wood will work for these, but as always, stronger woods will impart a stronger flavor. Alder or Maple work well for this dish.
Here is the squash after it was smoked. No color change, but the aroma was great. I also added a dash of ground rosemary on top of them before I smoked em but forgot to take a pic of that.

After the smoke, we need to dice one very large or 2 medium onions and saute them in a large pot with 3 tbls butter. While this is sauteing, take one red bell pepper, cut in half and roast it on an open flame till it's slightly charred. When done, dice and add to the onions along with 1/4 tsp of finely ground rosemary. Cook all this until the onions turn clear.

Next, add 1 1/2 quarts of chicken stock and add the sauteed onions and roasted peppers along with 1 1/2 cups of diced potatoes and 2 tsp of paprika, 2 tsp of black pepper and 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper.


Brought this to a boil then turned down to a simmer for 30 minutes.

Next, remove from heat and run 2 separate batches in the blender. (CAUTION. This is going to be HOT HOT HOT.) Once done, return to stove, bring back to a near boil and add 3/4 cup of heavy cream.

Here is a bowl I had for lunch. I tried to get creative with bit of cream in the center, but the design didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. I was never good in art class when in school.


A very good soup with a moderate smoky taste and aroma, and a rich, creamy and velvety texture.
For a subtle variation on taste, try substituting the regular taters with some sweet taters.