Last year, it seemed liked Christina and I had beets coming out our ears compliments of our CSA box. This year, it’s butternut squash…ah, the joys of seasonal eating! Fortunately, butternut squash is super versatile and works in a number of recipes. I especially enjoy a bowl of piping hot butternut squash soup. To enhance the squash flavor in the soup, I wrapped the pulpy flesh (which I normally toss) in cheesecloth, tied it up with twine and added it to the pot along with my broth. I also tried roasting the seeds like I do with pumpkin seeds. I sprinkled these on top of the finished soup for a tasty and eye-pleasing garnish. All in all, the only thing I didn’t use was the tough outer skin.
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium butternut squash, cut into 1/2″ chunks (see note above about seeds and flesh)
1/2 cup carrots, cut into 1/2″ chunks
1 Anjou pear, peeled and cut into 1/2″ chunks
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried sage, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 quart of chicken broth
nutmeg
Serves 4-6
Heat butter over medium heat in a large dutch oven. Add onions and cook until tender, 5-7 minutes. Add butternut squash and carrots and cook until just tender, 10-12 minutes. Add pear, thyme and sage and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add broth and bay leave (and cheesecloth bundle of flesh, if desired), cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add a pinch or two of nutmeg, and season with salt and pepper.
Puree mixture in a blender, food processor or (easiest of all) with an immersion blender. Whichever way you choose, be careful when blending hot soup! It helps to place a towel over a blender to allow the hot steam to escape.
Pour individual servings and garnish with a dollop of greek yogurt, creme fraiche, chives, bacon bits or roasted pumpkin/squash seeds.
{ 1 comment }
How funny, I’m on my lunch break and I literally just finished eating some delicious butternut squash soup that I whipped up and froze last week. First I roasted my squash in the oven at 400 for 50 min and scoopped the good stuff out and let it simmer in vegetable broth and sauteed onions and garlic for about 40 minutes. After that I pureed it in my blender with a dash of thyme and some salt/pepper. I used my microplane to garnish with some orange zest too (be careful not to make the mistake over over-zesting…the orange flavor can be overpowering). Overall it was delicious but I’ll be excited to try and garnish with greek yogurt!
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