Cozy Fall Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

This week Sharon and I offer our amazing roasted butternut squash soup garnished with a crispy, spicy granola.

Before I was a homemaker and a Sephardic Spice Girl, I was in the fashion retail business. I had a store on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. I loved it. I loved buying the clothes and shoes and jewelry and accessories. I loved merchandising. I loved working with my staff and I loved helping women find the right outfit or the perfect pair of shoes.

I don’t miss the long hours (I’d work Saturday nights until 1 am and be back to open the doors at 10am on Sunday morning). I certainly don’t miss the stress of paying all the bills.

What I do miss is the structure and purpose that having a “real job” gives to your days! Nowadays, my structure is carpool and my daily stop at Starbucks for a grande flat white (I think I really go there for their truly delicious water — did you know that Starbucks does a reverse osmosis 18 times to purify their water!?!).

Luckily for me, my purpose comes from feeding my family and volunteering my time for worthy causes. This week, the incredibly beautiful and talented executive director of Beth Jacob and my good friend Robyn Lewis invited me to help her make a Friendsgiving feast for the Golden Age Academy.

I had so much fun basting the turkey, mashing the potatoes, stirring the gravy and sautéing the cremini, baby Bella, shiitake and portobello mushrooms for the sourdough stuffing. (It was excellent practice for the real deal this week.)

While I cook from memory and make things up as I go along, Robyn has a folder filled with her tried and true recipes and a very precise plan. There was ruby red cranberry sauce and cute half oranges emptied of their flesh and filled with mashed sweet potato and topped with a glazed layer of sweet, creamy marshmallow fluff. There were dinner rolls brushed with olive oil and chopped parsley and green beans topped with perfectly crunchy almonds. There was an apple sangria and a leafy baby greens salad garnished with dates and candied pecans. There was crusty cornbread perfect for dipping in the vibrant roasted butternut squash soup.

For me, the best part of volunteering for this luncheon was the opportunity to meet the incredible seniors that make up this wonderful group. I was so honored to hear from so many that they read this column each week. Conversing with them totally filled my spirit.

I was 18 years old the first time I ever made butternut squash soup. My mother was away and I was in charge of Friday night dinner. I honestly don’t remember what I served besides the soup. I just remember being so proud that my father and my uncle Efrem really enjoyed the soup.

If you’ve read some of our articles, you’ll know that Rachel and I are obsessed with soups. We make lentil soups, tomato and rice soups, vegetable soups, chicken soups, bean soups. We love soup. But I have to say butternut squash soup is probably my favorite. The nutty, creamy, sweetness and the beautiful beta carotene brightness of the soup make it truly irresistible.

—Sharon

Sometimes it feels like Sharon’s life and my life have been intertwined forever. We were friends in high school, we navigated the young single life together, we were there for each other’s weddings and for the births of our children. My boys grew up best friends with her son Ariel and my daughter Rebekah grew up loving Sharon’s girls like younger sisters.

When Sharon decided to retire from retail, I was looking for something new after 20 years in the entertainment management business. I bought her store on Montana Avenue. I loved retail as much as she did. But retail got tough after the recession , so I decided to go into commercial property management which is now my full time gig.

But for me, my ultimate joy is being in the kitchen. Ever since I was a little girl, watching my mother create magic with her hands and a few ingredients, the kitchen is my favorite place to be.

People are always telling Sharon and me to become caterers, but that’s probably my biggest nightmare. I really just want to cook for my family and friends and of course, you, dear reader.

We all know soup equals comfort food. It’s the first thing we serve when someone is under the weather or in need of tender loving care. It’s one of the first things I fed my children as babies.

I learned from my mother to make soup all year round. It’s just automatic. This time of year, my mind always turns to a fall harvest soup. A creamy puréed soup that takes advantage of the fall bounty.

This week Sharon and I offer our amazing roasted butternut squash soup garnished with a crispy, spicy granola. Roasting the butternut with some baharat spices and brown sugar lends the soup the most delicious caramelized flavor. Sautéed leeks add a mild, mellow oniony flavor and the apples lend a tart sweetness.

Roasting the butternut with some baharat spices and brown sugar lends the soup the most delicious caramelized flavor.

This festive bright orange soup is a flavorful, nutritional bonanza.

—Rachel

Roasted butternut squash soup

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
1 Tbsp baharat spice or ground cinnamon
1 tsp sweet paprika
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp granulated garlic powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper or ground black pepper
2 Tbsp avocado oil
3 leeks, finely sliced
1 large apple, cubed
2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 bay leaves
1 Tbsp consommé powder dissolved into 2 cups of boiling water
2 cups cold water

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Grease a large baking sheet with oil and arrange butternut squash in a single layer on the tray. Sprinkle with  spices, salt and pepper. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until fork tender.

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat, then add the leeks and sauté for 10 minutes until leeks are translucent.

Add the apples, bay leaves and cinnamon and sauté for another 10 minutes.

Pour in the consommé and the rest of the water and stir well. 

Add the roasted squash, then cover the pot. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Use an immersion blender or a standing blender to purée the ingredients to desired smoothness. 

Taste the soup and add salt and pepper, to taste. 

Savory Granola Topping 

1 cup old fashioned oats
½ cup roasted pistachios
½ cup pepitas (roasted pumpkin seeds)
½ cup candied pecans
1 Tbsp fennel seed
½ tsp Aleppo pepper
1 tsp salt
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, toss all the ingredients and mix well to coat all the oats and nuts.

Spread the granola on to a parchment lined sheet pan.

Bake for 15 minutes, then remove from oven and stir the granola around on the tray. 

Bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until golden and crispy.

Sharon Gomperts and Rachel Emquies Sheff have been friends since high school. The Sephardic Spice Girls project has grown from their collaboration on events for the Sephardic Educational Center in Jerusalem. Follow them
on Instagram @sephardicspicegirls and on Facebook at Sephardic Spice SEC Food.