So logically the next step is to pop the tray into the oven and set the timer for 30 minutes. At thirty minutes take the squash out, stir and put back for another 30 minutes. (Repeat as often as necessary, we'll talk about that in a bit.)



If you’re impatient like I am, feel free to put it on convection bake. All that we are trying to achieve here is to create the roasted flavor, texture is not important, because the squash will cook even longer in the chicken stock before being pureed. But if they get mushy, that’s not a problem either. less

So, while you may want to stop cooking the squash when it looks like the picture above, put it back in until it looks like the picture below. The darker brown the squash gets, the more of that wonderful roasted flavor will be in the soup… up until you get a bunch of burnt ones, at which point it will start to taste toasted not roasted.

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So, while you may want to stop cooking the squash when it looks like the picture above, put it back in until it looks like the picture below. The darker brown the squash gets, the more of that wonderful roasted flavor will be in the soup… up until you get a bunch of burnt ones, at which point it will start to taste toasted not roasted.

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So once you’ve got the squash in the oven…

It’s time to get the herbs and spices steeping in the broth. I’m using chicken broth, but you could used veggie stock, mushroom stock, or even water if you’ve got nothing better.



The herbs and spices I use here are bay leaves, ground sage, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. If you’ve got poultry seasoning you could replace the sage, or you could replace the cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice with a pumpkin pie spice mix. If you don’t have the allspice, don’t worry. Put it all in a pot and bring it up to the boil, put on the lid, and turn it off until the squash is done.

I feel strongly about grating the nutmeg fresh as you need it. Once you’ve tasted fresh grated nutmeg, you won’t go back to the pre-ground stuff.

Funfact #2: The flag of the Caribbean island of Grenada contains a depiction of nutmeg, which represents its importance to Grenada’s economy as well as the island’s former name the “Isle of Spice”. less