Place rimmed baking sheet oven and heat to 400°. Remove seeds and stringy flesh from squash, reserving seeds. Rub squash flesh with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Place flesh-side-down on preheated baking sheet and roast until skin has browned and wrinkled and a knife slides easily into the caramelized flesh, about 25 minutes. Rinse squash flesh off seeds and pat dry. Arrange in a single layer on aluminum foil-lined baking; season with salt. Roast until toasty brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool.

Meanwhile, prepare vegetables and soup base: Gently warm stock in small saucepan over low heat; do not bring to a simmer. Heat a good glug of oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Throw in carrot and cook for 2 minutes. Add shallots, stir, and cook for 2 minutes. Add garlic, cook for—you guessed it—2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add curry powder, cinnamon, and cardamom seeds, if using. If pan gets too dry, deglaze with a little stock.

Once squash is roasted, remove from oven and let cool enough to handle. Remove skin and mash, scoop, or chop the flesh up and add to pot. Stir, breaking up squash as much as possible.

Add stock and water, if necessary, to cover vegetables in liquid. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until flavors are combined, squash has broken down, and soup is thick but not stew-like, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and, working in batches, carefully puree in blender. Do not overfill blender; the steam of the hot soup could pop the lid off, so hold down with a dish towel over your hand to prevent getting burned. Return soup to clean pot.

Stir in cream and taste. The soup should be a little spicy, a little sweet and creamy without tasting fatty. Adjust the seasoning as needed. Serve hot or cool completely, refrigerate, and serve cold. Top with a dollop of thick yogurt and a good sprinkling of toasted squash seeds and kosher salt.

Recipe courtesy of The Working Class Foodies Cookbook by Rebecca Lando.