It’s fall now, and there’s no better time to enjoy soup: um, it’s getting colder. Also fall-related: butternut squash. Until this soup, I don’t think I’ve ever used butternut squash. Good news: it’s easy.
I changed this up from the source recipe in a number of ways. 1) The source recipe disdains the use of an immersion blender and recommends a regular blender. Well, that’s a pain in the ass and I don’t have a $600 Vitamix with a soup setting. 2) She used vegetable stock. I wanted a little more backbone (ha, get it?) to this soup. 3) She thinks butter is better than heavy cream. Idiot, butter comes from cream… 4) She recommended 4 cloves of garlic – which is a shitload of garlic. Note: my soup may leave you vulnerable to vampires, but it’s superior in every other way.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 large butternut squash – about 3 lbs (1.36 kg)
- 1 onion, chopped fine
- 1 shallot, chopped fine
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- salt & pepper
- olive oil
SUMMARY
- Roast the squash
- Sweat the aromatics
- Simmer the soup
- Blend
- Eat
INSTRUCTIONS
- Halve the butternut squash lengthwise and remove the seeds with a spoon. Lightly coat the inside of the squash halves with olive oil and sprinkle-on some salt & pepper. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper, and lay the squash cut-side-down on the paper. Roast in a 400 degree oven for about an hour.
- When done, allow the squash to cool enough to handle. Note: it’s ok if the skin gets all brown and somewhat charred – that’s good roasting! Use a spoon to remove the roasted flesh and put in a bowl or something. Leave the outer skin – we don’t need that.
- Heat a large saucepan to medium, add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, and sweat the onion and shallot until softened – about 8 minutes. Don’t let the onion brown – we’re just trying to sweat these vegetables. Add the garlic and cook for ~30 seconds.
- Add the chicken stock, squash, nutmeg, and maple syrup and simmer for ~20 minutes. Simmer means that bubbles lightly break the surface, but it’s not a rolling boil. You can cover the pot or not, I don’t care.
- Turn off the heat, and with your trusty immersion blender, blend the concoction into a consistent creamy soup. Taste. Add salt & pepper as desired. Taste again. Good? Add the heavy cream and buzz a little more. Done.
- Ladle into soup bowls and eat while contemplating the changing colors of the leaves or some other happy autumn bullshit.
RECIPE NOTES
- Are there any garnishes? >> My original thoughts were to garnish with pumpkin and pomegranate seeds. The pomegranate seeds were a little too sweet – they masked the flavor of the butternut squash. The pumpkin seeds were ok, but I used roasted/salted seeds (white) – I think pepitas (green) would have been better. They are a little more tender and whatnot. For the second go, I just poured-in ~1 Tbs of heavy cream into the soup in the bowl – it made a nice white accent in the middle, which was nice.
Cook Like a Badass 