Skip to main content

Butternut Squash Soup

I always make Butternut Squash Soup with freshly roasted purée and serve it in my thick porcelain Pillivuyt bowls as soon as I find great squashes.  I showed you in a previous post how simple and delicious roasted butternut squash is, so why not turn some of that purée into soup?  For a spectacular dinner serve this with a good piece of buttered artisanal bread and a fresh salad.  My version of this soup uses one of the basic French foundations in cooking: a delicious and easy mirepoix.  Treat yourself & your families to a bowl of this soul warming soup while butternut squashes are plentiful.  I guarantee you're going to like it. 




The Ingredients
  • 1 celery stalk, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
  • 1 medium carrot, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
  • 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
  • 1 garlic clove, finely minced
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 sprig fresh thyme
  • 2 cups homemade Chicken Stock (vegetable can be substituted)
  • 2 cups Roasted Butternut Squash Purée
  • salt & pepper
Yield: 4 servings



In a 4 qt. sauce pot over medium heat, sauté the carrot, onion & celery in 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil until the vegetables have softened, about 5 minutes.  This "trinity" of vegetables is called a mirepoix in French and is the foundation for so many soups & classic sauces.  Salt & pepper to taste, then add the minced garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.



Add the chicken stock & sprig of thyme to the pot & raise the heat.  Bring the mixture up to a simmer, cover the pot with a lid & lower your heat.  Simmer for 15 minutes, just until the mirepoix has softened completely. 

Remove the thyme sprig & discard.  Strain the mixture into a medium-sized, heatproof bowl using a fine mesh sieve.  Purée the mirepoix with 1 cup of the reserved stock in a blender or a food processor until it is smooth. 


Note: When blending hot liquids you must provide a means of escape for the heat, so leave the lid slightly ajar and drape a kitchen towel over the opening to prevent any burns. 



Have the 2 cups of Roasted Butternut Squash ready.  Return the pureed mirepoix and all of the chicken stock to the sauce pot, and mix with your butternut squash purée.  Salt & pepper the soup and bring it up to a simmer.  I find that it only needs a few minutes simmering on the stove before it's ready to serve.


Note: if you find the soup too thick for your liking, you can thin it out with some more stock, some milk or cream.  You decide what consistency you like.  





Ladle the soup into bowls and serve immediately.



✶✶✶✶✶

I know it's tempting to buy premade Butternut Squash Soup from markets and restaurants, but you shouldn't have to settle for it after seeing how simple it is to make at home.  There are many versions of this soup and I like them all for the most part.  To my mind, the pure flavor of butternut squash should come through in this type of soup.  I don't want to have too many other flavors competing with each other.  You can enhance & boost the flavor, if you wish, with other herbs or perhaps a dollop of crème fraîche or even some yogurt.  Some crumbled bacon is certainly welcomed and quite delicious.  I hope this soup has managed to capture your attention and taste buds.  Make it for dinner this weekend and let me know what you think.  Bon appétit!

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank You for Posting!

Popular posts from this blog

Antique Salt Cellars

There was a time when salt cellars played an important role on the dining table for the host or hostess.  As a result of it being such an expensive commodity several hundred years ago, salt was seen as a luxury and it was the well to do that made salt cellars quite fashionable & a status symbol for the home.  A single salt cellar usually sat at the head of the table and was passed around throughout the meal.  The closer one sat to the salt cellar, the more important one was deemed by the head of the household.  Smaller cellars that were more accessible and with an open top became a part of Victorian table settings.  Fast forward to the 20th century when salt was no longer a luxury and when anti caking agents were added to make salt free-flowing, and one begins to see salt cellars fall out of fashion.  Luckily for the collector and for those of us who like to set a table with Good Things , this can prove to be a boon. Salt cellars for the table come in silver, porcelain, cut glass
50 comments
Read more

How to Paint a Chair

If you have ever felt the need to spruce up a set of chairs or give them a new look, why not try a little bit of paint?  Our tastes in decor and color will probably alter throughout our lives, and at some point, we may find ourselves wanting to change the look of our furniture without having to spend a lot of money.  That's where a few handy tips, some tools from the hardware store, and good-quality paint come in handy.   I know I'm not alone in paying visits to local antique shops, antique fairs and flea markets, and falling in love with pieces of furniture that would be perfect if they were just a different color.  You don't have to walk away from a good purchase simply because it's the wrong color.   My dear friend, Jeffrey, is forever enhancing his home with collectibles from flea markets and tag sales.  However, certain items aren't always up to Jeffrey's tastes when he brings them home.  He is the type of person who won't hesitate to chang
6 comments
Read more

Vintage Wilton Wedding Cakes

Wedding cakes have certainly evolved over the decades just as tastes and styles have in our American way of life.  There was a time when elaborate & very formal towering feats of sweetness were the standard for every bride & groom.  Growing up in a household where I witnessed several wedding cakes take shape from start to finish, I can tell you  that every single one of these was a true labor of love.  For mom, Wilton was the go-to supplier in every aspect of cake baking, including the wedding cakes which flew out of our house every single year for friends & family.   Vintage Wedding Cake Toppers It’s fun going back and looking at Wilton’s methods and styles for wedding cakes during the 1960s and 1970s.  Back then, the shapely cakes were not simply stacked and covered in perfect fondant the way they are these days, but were iced and decorated with real buttercream, along with a multitude of accessories.  There was even a working fountain available that could b
7 comments
Read more