Butternut Squash Soup
I always hate to see the warm days of summer go, but one bright spot as the cold short days of fall and winter arrive is a nice hot bowl of Butternut Squash soup and a fresh warm piece of good, hearth baked multi-grain or rye bread. This is a savory, spicy soup with just a hint of sweetness. It’s relatively easy to make if you have an immersion blender and a large batch will provide meals for a couple of days along with some to freeze.
I tend to modify the recipe according to which vegetables I have on hand. To change up the recipe a bit, add a couple of large chopped jalapeno peppers and saute with the onions. My current recipe uses 2 large parsnips and 4 large carrots instead of the potatoes.
Ingredients
- 2 Butternut Squash (2-3 pounds each)
- 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
- 2 large or 3 medium Onions
- 2 large jalapeno peppers (optional)
- 2 large parsnips and 4 large carrots or 2 large Potatoes
- 10 cups Low-Sodium Chicken Broth or Vegetable Broth
- 15-20 Fresh Sage leaves (or dried sage)
- Paprika
- Fresh-Ground Nutmeg
- White Pepper to taste
- Salt if needed
- Green Onions or Chives (chopped)
Instructions
- Peel, seed and cube the squash.
- Peel and cube the parsnips and carrots or the potatoes.
- Chop the onions and the peppers if you are using them.
- In a large pot, saute the onions and peppers in the oil until they are translucent and just start to brown.
- Add the squash and the parsnips and carrots, or the potatoes to the pot and then add the broth until the vegetables are almost covered.
- Bring to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 15-20 minutes.
- When the cooking is almost done, Chop the sage and add it to the pot.
- Use a hand blender to puree the soup.**
- Season with paprika, nutmeg, salt and white pepper.***
- Taste and add more salt and white pepper if necessary.
- Serve with chopped green onions or chives.
Notes
* I use my favorite vegetable broth called "No Chicken", made by Imagine, which makes for a vegetarian and vegan recipe. You can substitute chicken broth or your favorite vegetable broth.
** If you don't have a hand blender, you can remove the cooked vegetables with a slotted spoon and puree them in a blender or food processor and then return the puree to the soup pot. This is a messy and time-consuming way of doing this, so if you like the recipe, splurge and buy yourself a hand blender.
*** For this recipe I usually grate a whole nutmeg seed into the pot and also season with a considerable amount of white pepper to give the soup a bit of a bite, but add it to your own taste. I add some paprika for color. Taste before you add salt as the soup may be salty enough from the broth.
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