Summer produce is on its way out to make room for fall fruits and vegetables. Pumpkins, cranberries, apples, squash and more will soon be gracing the East Lansing Farmer’s Market and the MSU student-run Farm Stand.

Once again Residential and Hospitality Services Senior Executive Chef Kurt Kwiatkowski helped us out by giving us some amazing seasonal recipes. This time, he gave us three of his personal favorites. You can view Chef Kurt’s crowd-pleasing Baked Fresh Herb Spaghetti Squash and Butter Beans with Kale recipes here.

Chef Kurt’s roasted squash soup recipe is also a favorite of many. You’ll be sure to impress anyone with this dish.

Roasted Squash Soup

1 butternut squash

1 t.+2 T. canola oil

½ c. diced onion

½ c. diced carrots

½ c. diced celery

1 T. minced fresh ginger

5 c. vegetable broth (add more if needed to thin soup out)

1½ T. cumin, ground

2 t. chili powder

1 t. curry powder

1 t. old bay seasoning

½ t. cayenne pepper (*more or less depending upon spice level)

¼ t. cinnamon

2 t. apple cider vinegar

**garnish can be a chiffonade of baby spinach leaves and diced red peppers

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Cut squash in half lengthwise with your chef knife using the point of the knife to first cut through ½ of the squash and then repeating the process to finish cutting the squash in half. Scoop seeds (save if you want to roast off later). Place squash face down in a roasting pan with 1-2 cups of water in the pan and roast for 25-30 minutes. Flip squash face up, put the teaspoon of oil on it, season with salt and pepper, and return to oven for 15-20 minutes till squash is cooked through. Remove from oven and let cool a little.

In a soup/stock pot heat remaining oil up and sauté onion, carrots and celery for 10-12 minutes.

Deglaze the pot with about 2 cups of the vegetable broth and then scoop squash out from skin and put into the pot. Stir ingredients up mixing the squash and vegetables well.

Using a blender add about 3 cups of the squash mixture at a time and blend on high while adding more broth to thin out. Remove blended mixture and place into a separate bowl or pot to finish the soup. After everything is blended, scrape out the blender with a spatula, and return soup to a soup/stock pot and put on a medium low burner.

Bring soup up to a simmer, add seasonings and let simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper as needed. Serve with optional garnish.