A rich and cozy butternut squash soup with tasty homemade sourdough tortellini.
During the height of COVID, my husband and I mastered the art of an at-home date night. A night on the town transformed into a fancy-ish home cooked meal and some Mario Kart. And, honestly, I was fine with that. Now that things are back to a “new normal”, I have to admit we’ve stayed doing the at-home date nights. It’s just too much fun (and my bones are too creaky to be hitting the clubs anyways).
This butternut squash soup with tortellini is especially suited for a cozy fall night at home. The butternut squash is roasted until tender and caramelized, and your home is filled with an enchanting autumn aroma. While it can skew quite sweet, blending the butternut squash with broth, yogurt, and a few warming spices provides a savory balance.
On its own the soup is quite simple and would make a pretty great lunch. But topping it with flavorful cheese-filled tortellini’s turns a great lunch into a phenomenal dinner. For an easier version, use premade tortellini. But, if you’re like me and can’t resist a project, use the time while the squash is roasting to make your own. With sourdough pasta, and a filling of kale and ricotta, they are sure to impress.
The flavorful tortellini float atop the creamy butternut soup, along with a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of thyme, and some crunchy pepitas. Then just fire up the Nintendo (or Netflix? a board game? whatever you’re into) and prepare for an intimate night in.
-Ryne 10/11/2023
Like this Butternut Squash Soup with Tortellini?
If so, I’m pretty sure you’ll love my Pumpkin Ravioli with Brown Butter Mushrooms which also features sourdough pasta and some cozy fall flavors. A Sourdough Lasagna is another great option for those comfy nights in.
Butternut Squash Soup with Tortellini
Ingredients
Soup
- 1 butternut squash roughly 3 lbs
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil plus more for toppings
- Salt and pepper
- 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
- 1½ cups vegetable or chicken stock
- 1 tsp cumin
- ½ tsp paprika
- 2 tbsp toasted pepitas (optional) for topping
- Thyme (optional) for topping
Filling
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 4 leaves lacinato kale stems removed and finely chopped
- Salt and pepper
- ¾ cup ricotta cheese
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
Pasta
- 80 gram (½ cup) semolina flour
- 60 grams (½ cup) 00 flour
- 3 grams (½ tsp) fine salt
- 3 large egg yolks
- 12 grams (1 tbsp) extra-virgin olive oil
- 125 grams (½ cup) sourdough discard 100% hydration
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Cut butternut squash in half down the center, from top to bottom. Scrape out pulp and seeds. Place on a sheet pan and drizzle interior with olive oil. Sprinkle with ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper, and rub to coat the inside of squash. Place cut-side down on the sheet pan and bake of an hour, or until flesh is very tender.
- Meanwhile, make pasta dough: place flours and salt in a food processor. Pulse several times to combine.
- Add egg yolks, olive oil, and sourdough discard to food processor. Blend for 30-60 seconds until a rough dough forms. If dough does not start to come together, add water by the teaspoon until it does.
- Transfer dough to a work surface and knead for about 10 minutes, until dough is fairly smooth. Cover in plastic wrap and leave to rest (at least 30 minutes).
- Meanwhile, make pasta filling: heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook briefly until fragrant. Add kale and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes until wilted and starting to lightly brown. Move to a bowl.
- Add ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper, ricotta, and Parmesan to bowl with kale. Mix together.
- When butternut squash is done roasting, scrape the flesh into a bowl. Add 2 cups to a blender, along with yogurt, stock, cumin, paprika, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper. Blend until smooth. Set aside.
- Heat a large pot of salted water over high heat.
- Divide pasta dough into 4 equally sized pieces. Flatten each into a round puck. Cover with plastic or a towel.
- Roll out one portion of pasta at a time, keeping the others covered. Set a pasta roller to its widest setting and pass the dough through. On a lightly floured surface fold the sheet into thirds from the short ends to make a rectangle of dough about the width of the pasta roller. Flatten dough with your hand or a rolling pin and pass through the roller again on the widest setting. Repeat folding and feeding through the widest setting one more time, or until the dough is smooth and even.
- Roll out dough twice through each of the following settings until dough is about 1 mm (Refer to pasta roller manual for guidance. For a KitchenAid pasta roller, roll out to setting 5 or 6).
- Cut dough into squares (they should be around 4×4 inches, give or take). Top each with 2-teaspoon mounds of kale-cheese filling. Brush the top of the dough with water, around the mounds of filling. Fold one corner of the dough over to the opposite corner to make a triangle. Press down to seal around filling. Trim edges if desired.
- Gently flatten the filling with your fingers. Fold up the bottom third of the triangle, from the base towards the tip. Wrap the dough around a finger to make a ring, with filling on the inside, and press the ends together to seal. Place shaped tortellini on a floured surface.
- Transfer soup from blender to a saucepan and place over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally.
- When pot of water is boiling cook tortellini for 3-4 minutes, gently stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain and return to pot.
- Divide soup until bowls and top with tortellini. Sprinkle with pepitas and thyme. Drizzle olive oil over the top.
