Preheat oven to 390°F.

Peel the butternut squash to remove the skin. I used a large knife to speed this process up. Remove seeds, & chop the butternut into 1-inch thick cubes. Place on a very large sheet pan, or two separate medium-sized pans.

Peel & smash the garlic to activate allicin (press the flat side of your knife on top of the garlic, then using your hand, press down until the garlic flattens out), then toss into the pan, no need to mince.

Peel & chop the ginger, add to the pan.

Lather everything with 2 Tbsp olive oil, ¼ - ½ tsp sea salt, red pepper flakes, & cracked pepper. Place in the oven for about 45 minutes.

Once the time has passed & you can pierce the squash with a fork, remove from the oven & let cool for about 5 minutes. *NOTE - leave the oven on if you'd like to toast your pumpkin seeds; otherwise, turn off.

In a large blender, toss in everything from the pan, then all of the remaining ingredients to the blender (you should be left with about ½ tsp sea salt & 1 Tbsp olive oil). Blend everything together until smooth, this should only take a few minutes. *NOTE - keep in mind, if you taste test here, the flavor will not be an accurate representation as all of the other ingredients are cold at this point.

Once blended, transfer the soup to a large stockpot & heat over medium-low. Cover the soup (it will splatter if you don't), then let it warm for about 10 minutes. Mix occasionally.

PUMPKIN SEEDS: If you're toasting pumpkin seeds, this is a great time to do it. Toss the pumpkin seeds onto the same sheet pan & place in the oven for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, check to see if they're golden brown; if not, give them another 2 minutes. Keep a close eye on this, they will burn quickly!

Once the soup is warm to your preference, taste test. Add additional spices, sweetener, or sea salt if you feel it's needed.

Serve & top with roasted pumpkin seeds, fresh cilantro, olive oil, lime juice, cracked pepper, & flaky sea salt.