Tasty Tuesday: Butternut Squash Soup

Fall is here!  Thank goodness.  Summer is wonderful and all, but fall is so much more relaxing for me.  And perhaps what I love most about fall is the food.  Like apples, cinnamon, pumpkin and squash.  When we were in Prince Edward Island last week, I had the best butternut squash soup in the world (at the Olde Glasgow Mill Restaurant in New Glasgow), so naturally I decided to try to replicate it as soon as I got home.

I didn’t quite hit the mark, but I think with a little tweaking here or there with this basic recipe, I can get close.  But, just as it is, this recipe is one I will definitely make again and again throughout the fall and winter.

I used this base recipe from Paula Deen and made it my own.  Here’s how:

Butternut Squash Soup
(makes 8+ servings)

INGREDIENTS:

• 2-3 pounds of butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 1 apple, cubed (no need for peeling)
• 1 cup of diced onion
• 1 cup of shredded carrots
• 5 cups of chicken broth
• 4 TBS butter
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup of brown sugar or honey (add to your liking, or omit for a more savory soup)
• 1-2 tsp cinnamon (add to your liking)
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg (add to your liking)
• 1/2 tsp pepper (add to you liking)
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup of cream (I used light cream)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Add the squash, apple, onion, carrots and broth to a large saucepan.  Heat the mixture over medium/high heat until it is bubbling (not necessarily boiling) and then let the mixture simmer over lower heat for about 40 minutes (or until the squash is tender).

Then add in the spices and butter and use an immersion blender to turn this mess into something pretty (I have this one).  If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can transfer parts of the mixture at a time to a blender or mini-chopper to puree the soup.

Once you have the chunks all smoothed out, whisk in the sugar and cream.  Here is where you can experiment with the taste.  Add more spices, sugar or cream as you see fit!  I went a little heavy on the cinnamon on mine and next time I’ll go a bit lighter. If you want a healthier recipe, you could leave out the cream all together.

Garnish with sour cream or cheddar cheese, if you have it!

This made more than enough soup for about 8 servings.  It was a big pot ‘o soup, that is for sure.  I ended up freezing a few servings for lunches or nights when I don’t feel like cooking. (Oh, wait.  That is every night these days!)

What do you think?  Are you ready for fall cooking and baking, too?