Roasted Squash Soup: A Lebanese-Spiced Recipe with Aleppo Grilled Cheese

Why roast everything on one tray

Squash, sweet potato, carrot, tomato, onion and a whole head of garlic all go onto a single baking sheet, seasoned with Mediterranean Herb & Salt and rosemary, then roasted until soft and sweet. Everything then goes into the blender with stock and comes back to the stove with cream. The grilled cheese, with Aleppo pepper melted into the middle, is not optional.

Quick facts

• Serves: not specified in the source recipe
• Prep: 15 minutes
• Roast: 45 minutes
• Finish: 10 minutes

What you'll need from the spice rack

• Mediterranean Herb & Salt: seasons the roasting tray.
• Aleppo Pepper: inside the grilled cheese, and dusted over the soup.

Ingredients

Soup

• 2 squash
• 2 sweet potatoes
• 1 carrot
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 onion
• 1 whole head of garlic
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp Mediterranean Herb & Salt
• Olive oil (amount not specified in the source recipe)
• A few rosemary sprigs
• Chicken stock (amount not specified in the source recipe)
• 2 cups cream

Grilled cheese

• Butter
• Bread
• Shredded mozzarella and cheddar
• Aleppo Pepper

To garnish

• Cream
• Parsley
• Pumpkin seeds
• Aleppo Pepper

Method

1. Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
2. Roast. Chop the vegetables and spread them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with the black pepper and Mediterranean Herb & Salt, add the rosemary, pour over the olive oil, and roast 45 minutes. To get the garlic soft and sweet, oil the whole head and set it cut-side down on the tray.
3. Blend. Put all the roasted vegetables in a blender, squeezing the garlic out of its skins, add the chicken stock, and blend until smooth.
4. Build the sandwich. Butter the outside of two slices of bread, fill with the cheeses, and sprinkle Aleppo Pepper in the middle.
5. Finish the soup. Pour it into a pot over medium-low heat, add the cream, and once it comes to a simmer, turn off the heat.
6. Grill the cheese in a warm pan on both sides while the soup heats.
7. Serve. Ladle the soup into bowls, add a swirl of cream, parsley, pumpkin seeds and a dusting of Aleppo Pepper. Dip the grilled cheese in the soup.

Notes and swaps

• Any winter squash works. Butternut and kabocha are the easiest to peel. Roast in large chunks so they do not dry out.
• Blend in batches if your blender is small, and never fill it more than half way with hot liquid.
• Skip the cream for a lighter soup, or use coconut milk. The roasted vegetables carry it either way.
• Keeps three days in the fridge and freezes well before the cream goes in.

More from the spice rack

This recipe calls for Mediterranean Herb & Salt and Aleppo Pepper from Beirut Spice Co., sourced from Lebanon's Bekaa Valley.