Give Butternut Squash Soup A Brighter Flavor With A Squeeze Of Citrus

Butternut squash is one of those autumnal ingredients that can be delicious in so many recipes. Be it at breakfast in a riff on hash browns or baked into muffins, puréed and stuffed into ravioli, roasted and served with maple syrup and brown sugar as a side dish at dinner, or baked into a pie for dessert, this culinary multitasker is a thing of bright orange beauty. And as the basis for a creamy, versatile soup, it couldn't be more comforting.

While this root vegetable itself may be more associated with sweetness and is often paired with ingredients like maple syrup, brown sugar, and warming spices, there's another common ingredient that can really help bring out the best in your butternut squash soup — and it might be a surprise to find that it's citrus. The science behind this tip is actually very simple though, and based on the fundamentals of cooking in general.

Much like salt, acid is an element that can amplify the flavors already in your food,highlighting and adding oomph to existing qualities (think adding vinegar to sweet caramelized onions). In this case, citrus not only enhances the tastiness of your squash, it also acts as a counterpoint to all that inherent sweetness, bringing the dish into balance and creating a sophisticated flavor that you'll crave all season, and long after.

In order to make this well-balanced butternut squash soup, begin by simply preparing your favorite simple roasted butternut squash soup recipe as you typically would. You may opt to create a purée from scratch, adding depth with aromatics like onion, garlic, and ginger, and spices like paprika, cumin, and coriander. But you can also start with a ready-made packaged option (it may help to evaluate the best and worst canned soups to buy at the grocery store).

Either way, you'll add your citrus toward the end of the process, just before adding cream (if you're using it) and finishing with a simmer. If you're going with store-bought soup, you can do this while you're warming it up. The purpose is to continue to heat the soup after the squeeze of juice so the citrus character will be less detectable, but you'll still have that lifting quality. (About a ½ lime's worth of juice will do for a 6 serving recipe.)

That said, this veggie is very welcoming of citrus flavor and you can even lean into it. Lime is a great option, but orange works well too, and is delicious with other ingredients that pair well with butternut squash (like ginger). A little kick from cayenne or smoky ancho works nicely and adds depth, too, and you can garnish with citrus zest, herbs, or put your chive-slicing skills to use. Regardless, this orange hued seasonal soup will shine a little brighter in the bowl.