Butternut Squash Soup

I tried butternut squash soup before but had never been very impressed. A few weeks after we moved to Denver, I was at Whole Foods and saw the biggest butternut squash I had ever seen. It was huge. I was inspired to make my own butternut squash soup from scratch. This is what you do when you have a lot of time on your hands! A little internet research led me to this recipe from the Food Network website. I made a few slight changes to my version but it's pretty much the same as the original.

I did have to invest in an emulsion blender but I have been able to use it when cooking a lot of other dishes so I don't feel like I wasted my money.

I like to top the soup with four slices of a french baguette topped with melted fontina cheese and chopped sage. It's heaven in a bowl and perfect on a cold night. Peter likes it so much that I make way more than we need, refrigerate it and serve it to him for lunch throughout the week. I have also kept in frozen for days and then made another dinner out of it later in the week. If you do this, make sure you add a touch of the chicken stock when heating the frozen soup in a pot. It will help it melt evenly and give it an even richer flavor.

Butternut Squash Soup
3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 3/4 inch pieces (about 7-8 cups)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup sage leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper

In large stockpot, melt the butter and oil over medium heat. Add onion and carrot, saute for five minutes. Stir in garlic, 30 seconds. Add squash and chicken stock, bring to boil. Add sage and boil for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, cool for 5 minutes and use emulsion blender to blend unitl smooth. Salt and pepper to taste.

Crostini

1/2 baguette, sliced diagonally into 1/2-inch thick slices

extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage leaves

6 thin slices fontina cheese 

salt

Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Arrange the bread slices on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sage. Place the cheese on top and season with salt, to taste. Bake until cheese has melted and the bread is light golden, about 6 to 8 minutes.