Roasted heirloom sweet meat squash and chestnut soup

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A sweet, rich, and creamy soup that is perfect for a cold autumn or winter day. It's made with a beautiful blue heirloom squash called "sweet meat" and it lives up to its name. This squash is sweet, dense, and meaty and the flesh is a beautiful bright orange - you just know this sucker is going to fill you up with vitamins. 

My father-in-law grew it in his huge garden this year, so we received a few of them. I had never seen these squash before so as a HUGE winter squash lover, I was very excited to try a new kind! Look at how pretty it is!

Of course, if you can't find your very own sweet meat squash, you can substitute a blue hubbard, kabocha, or red kuri squash as they are somewhat similar in texture and sweetness. You can also grow you own sweet meats next year! They make beautiful decorations, too! 

This soup will serve four as a side or starter. It's filled with other holiday flavors like chestnuts, apple, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.

Roasted heirloom sweet meat squash and chestnut soup
1 small (about 2 lb.) sweet meat squash
1 small white onion, peeled and halved
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3-1/2 oz. roasted and peeled chestnuts
1 cup apple cider
1/4 cup whole milk or half and half
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch of ground ginger, to taste

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lightly oil a baking sheet or dish. Quarter the squash and remove the seeds/strings. Place in the baking dish along with the onion. Lightly drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast on the bottom rack of the oven until the squash is tender and you can pierce it with a fork, about 30 minutes. Let cool until you can hold the squash.

Peel the skin from the squash and place the flesh in a blender with all the remaining ingredients (alternatively, you can place everything in the pot right away and use an immersion blender). Blend and add water about 1/4 cup at a time until the soup is smooth and has reached your desired consistency (I added about 1 cup). Adjust seasoning as needed. Pour into a pot and heat until hot.