Butternut squash soup with cheese and crackers recipe

Ingredients

• 2 pounds nextover’d Roasted Butternut Squash
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 large onions, sliced
• Kosher salt
• 5 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• Crumbled soft, fresh cheese, such as goat or blue, for serving
• Crackers, for serving

1. Cut the roasted squash into 1-inch cubes (no need to peel the skin—it will blend right into the soup)—you should get about 6 cups. In a large soup pot, combine the squash with 4 cups water. Set over medium-high heat and let it come to a simmer. Keep the water at a simmer, adjusting the heat if necessary, while you cook the onions.
2. Warm the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet set over medium heat. Add the onions and let them cook gently for about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, cumin, and paprika and continue to cook, stirring often and lowering the heat if needed to prevent any burning, until the onions are soft and golden brown, about 10 minutes more.
3. Add half of the onion mixture to the soup pot; season the onions that remain in the skillet with 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Using an immersion blender, puree the squash until it is completely smooth. (Alternatively, you can blend the soup in batches in a countertop blender, but be careful—the steam from the hot liquid can blow the lid off. Remove the center cap from the lid to allow steam to escape, and hold a dish towel over the hole when blending.)
4. Add water, ¼ cup at a time, to the puree until you reach the consistency you want (I often add almost an entire cup of water). Once you have the soup where you want it, start seasoning with salt—3 or 4 teaspoons of kosher salt usually tastes right to me—and several grinds of black pepper. Finally, stir in the apple cider vinegar.
5. Top bowls of soup with the reserved onion mixture, and serve with cheese and crackers on the side.