Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper or tin foil. Place cut up butternut squash in single layer on pan, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, generously sprinkle salt and fresh pepper all over the squash.

Roast squash until tender and lightly browned, about 45 minutes. Set squash aside. If using whole squash scoop out insides once cool and discard skin.

Meanwhile, in large soup pot warm 1-2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add chopped shallots and 1-2 tsp salt. Cook, stirring often until the shallots have softened and start to turn golden on the edges. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, stirring frequently until golden.

Add the broth, squash, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, salt and a few twists of freshly ground pepper to the pot. Bring mixture to slow boil then to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally for about 20 minutes for flavors to meld.

Carefully use immersion blender to blend the soup completely. Taste and blend in more salt or pepper, if necessary.

If you don’t have an immersion blender, use a Vitamix or equivalent blender to puree the soup in batches. Put back in soup pot when all blended and taste for flavor.

It works very well to make it the day before and refrigerate. Reheat prior to serving.