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You’ll notice I am using the broader name “squash� in the title of this recipe. It’s important to mention because you can use any variety of squash, and we are smack dab in the middle of winter squash season. Whatever squash you want to use, consider how you want to prepare it before adding it to the soup. For a summer squash like zucchini, it can just be diced and added to the soup. If you use butternut, you can trim it, peel it with a vegetable peeler, take the seeds out and then dice it for soup. For kabocha or delicata squash varieties, you can simply trim off the ends, slice it in half to remove the seeds, then dice it, leaving the edible skin on before adding it to the soup. If you wanted to use a pumpkin, you could cut the pumpkin into quarters or wedges (depending on size), roast the pumpkin in the oven with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper before peeling it and dicing the roasted pumpkin. If you use cooked squash, you can add it toward the end of the cooking process, about 15 minutes before serving.

This soup can be served on its own or garnished with cilantro or chives. I recommend some warm bread or tortillas on the side.

Beef, squash and chile soup

Makes: 8-10 servings; total time: 3 hours

For the chile sauce:

2 dried New Mexico red chiles

3 dried guajillo chiles

2 dried chipotle chiles

1 tablespoon butter

1 small red onion, sliced

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

3 cups water

2 tablespoons honey

Salt and pepper, to taste

For the meat:

3 pounds beef eye of round steak, trimmed and cut into half-inch pieces

Salt and pepper

High smoke point oil for searing (grapeseed, avocado or vegetable)

For the soup:

2 tablespoons butter

1 large onion, diced

2-4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon High Desert Herbs

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 14-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes

4 cups diced zucchini or butternut squash

2 quarts (4 cups) beef broth

Preparation: First let’s make the chile sauce. Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Now place a large, heavy-bottomed soup pot over low heat. Remove the stems and seeds from each of the dried chiles and break them into pieces. Transfer the chile pieces to the dry large pot and cook them over low heat for a couple minutes to activate their flavor, stirring occasionally. Transfer the lightly seared chiles to the pot of hot water. It doesn’t matter if it is boiling yet, just throw them in and let them take a hot bath for 10 minutes before straining and reserving the reconstituted chiles. While they are in the water, add the butter to the soup pot along with the onion. Let the onions cook for around 5 minutes until they are starting to caramelize. Add the garlic, cook another minute or so more and transfer this mixture to a blender. Add to the blender the reserved chiles, water, honey and a pinch of salt and pepper. (Note: Whenever measuring honey, with your finger, lightly rub the inside of the measuring spoon with oil before adding the honey to help it come out easier.) Blend until completely smooth, taste, adjusting seasoning as needed and reserve.

Turn the heat up to medium-high and add 1 tablespoon of the oil for searing to the pot. Generously season the diced beef with salt and pepper, and working in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan, sear the beef on all sides and transfer to a bowl. Repeat this process until all of the beef is seared. Reserve.

Now to the same pot add the butter. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently until the onions are beginning to caramelize, around 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute more. Add the High Desert Herbs and coriander. Stir and let cook for a minute or so. Now add the tomatoes to deglaze and scrape the bottom of the pan, making sure to incorporate all of the caramelized goodness into the chile. Add the chile sauce, seared meat, squash and beef broth. Bring this to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer. Let this simmer for around 2 hours, or until the beef is tender. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.