Basic Butternut Squash Soup
2 T olive oil
2 diced orange or maroon carrots
1 large diced celery stalk
1 medium diced onion
4 cups cubed butternut squash (1 medium squash - peeled and seeded)
1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
4 to 6 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
Nutmeg, sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions
Heat olive oil in a large soup pot and add carrots, celery and onion. Cook until the vegetables start to soften and onion starts to turn translucent, about 3 or 4 minutes. Add butternut squash and thyme and stir together. Stir in broth and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer until squash is tender, about 25-30 minutes. If you have an immersion blender use that to puree the soup right in the soup pot. Or you can let the soup cool a bit and then puree in batches in a blender. Note: If the blender has a glass container make sure you let the soup cool down enough so that you don’t crack the blender container. Not good for the soup or the blender!
Season with nutmeg, sea salt and pepper to your own taste.
Variation:
Thai Style
Add 2 or 3 minced garlic cloves and 2 tsp. minced ginger root with carrots, celery and onion. When adding the squash, add 1 T yellow curry powder or red curry paste and combine and saute for a minute or two to combine the flavors (omit thyme). Add half of the broth and cook until the squash is tender. Add remaining the broth and 1/2 cup light coconut milk and puree. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro (omit nutmeg) and season to taste.
Another great soup recipe is found at Cooksillustrated.com, which calls for sauteing shallots, the squash "innards" (seeds & fiber) in butter, than adding water, and cut up squash, still attached to skins in a steamer basket, set in the liquid, squash upside down, cover steam until squash is tender. Then scrape squash out into separate bowl, pour the liquid through a mesh strainer, add squash to strained liquid, puree in blender, add tsp. drk brwn sugar, cream (if you want) and voila - best butternut squash soup ever.
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