There is a particular sort of evening that arrives in late October and stays until March — dark by half past four, boots drying by the back door, the last of the daylight gone before you have finished tidying the borders. That is the evening that calls for something orange and steaming in a deep bowl. Squash soup answers perfectly, and it needn't be a performance. Get the squash roasting while you get on with something else and supper is on the table in under an hour, most of which you spend doing nothing at all.

Choose the Right Squash

Flavour in squash soup comes entirely from the flesh, so it pays to buy well. Look for a fruit that feels heavy for its size, with firm, unblemished skin and a dry, corky stem. Anything hollow-sounding or soft at the blossom end will taste watery.

• Crown Prince — dense, dry, deep orange flesh with a nutty edge. The best of the lot for roasting. Large, so expect to use half and freeze the rest.
• Butternut — the everyday choice. Sweeter and softer, easy to peel, reliably good.
• Onion squash — small, dark green and rounded, sweet and rich. Ideal for feeding two without leftovers.
• Kabocha — chestnutty and firm, holding its shape well if you want a little texture in the bowl.

One medium butternut or half a Crown Prince will comfortably serve four as a starter or two as a generous main course.

Roast, Don't Boil

Boiling squash leaches flavour into the water and leaves you with something thin and vaguely sweet. Roasting concentrates the sugars and brings out the caramelised edges that make the finished soup taste as though it has been worked on for hours.

Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan, gas mark 6). Halve the squash, scoop out the seeds and cut the flesh into wedges roughly four centimetres thick — there is no need to peel if the skin is thin, as it will soften and blend away. Toss the wedges with two tablespoons of mild oil, a good pinch of sea salt and plenty of black pepper, then spread them in a single layer on a large baking tray.

Tuck a whole head of garlic among the wedges, cloves separated but left unpeeled, along with a few sprigs of thyme or sage. Roast for thirty-five to forty-five minutes, turning once at the halfway mark, until the edges are browned and a knife slides in without resistance.

Do not throw away the seeds. Rinse them well, dry them on a tea towel, toss with a little oil and salt, and roast on a small tray at 180°C for about ten minutes. They make the best possible topping and cost nothing.

Build the Soup

Squeeze the softened garlic from its skins and tip the roasted squash, garlic and herbs into a large pan. Add between 700ml and one litre of stock — chicken or vegetable, but keep it light rather than strongly flavoured, or it will swamp the squash. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for ten minutes so everything melds.

Remove the woody herb stalks, then blend until completely smooth. A stick blender straight in the pan is the least fuss; a jug blender gives a finer, silkier result if you have the patience to work in batches and never fill it more than halfway.

Now enrich it. Stir through 100ml of double cream or a couple of generous spoonfuls of crème fraîche, plus a knob of butter for gloss. Season again — the soup will need more salt than you expect — and add a grating of nutmeg, a pinch of cayenne and a small squeeze of lemon juice to lift the sweetness. If it is thicker than you would like, loosen with more stock rather than water.

Weeknight Suppers and Weekend Bowls

On a busy Tuesday, keep it plain and serve it with hot buttered toast, a cheese toastie cut into soldiers, or a hunk of good bread and a slab of sharp Cheddar. That is a complete supper and takes no thought at all.

When you have company, or simply more time, set out a few bowls of toppings and let people help themselves:

• Toasted squash seeds and a scatter of crisp sage leaves fried in butter until they stop sizzling
• Crumbled blue cheese, feta or a spoonful of thick yoghurt
• A drizzle of chilli oil or browned butter with a pinch of smoked paprika
• Chopped chives, flat-leaf parsley or a little crisp bacon
• Warm flatbreads or cheese scones alongside, instead of bread

A bottle of something dry and white, or a light red served cool, finishes the picture nicely.

Make It Ahead and Freeze It

This is one of the most forgiving soups in the repertoire, which is exactly why it belongs in a country kitchen rotation. It keeps in the fridge for four days and freezes beautifully for up to three months — freeze it before you add the cream, then stir that in as it reheats.

Cool it quickly, portion into flat bags or tubs, and label with the date. Reheat gently on the hob rather than blasting it, as a hard boil can split the cream. Expect it to thicken overnight; a splash of stock brings it back to a pourable consistency.

The real trick is to roast a double batch of squash whenever the oven is on for something else — a joint of meat, a tray of roots, a Sunday bake. The cooked wedges keep happily in the fridge for several days, so a warming bowl is then only fifteen minutes away, whatever the weather does next.