Butternut Squash soup, a sweet filling soup!

Recipe: Scribbled in a corner of magazine as I was watching Take home Chef, a cooking show hosted by Curtis stone. Thanks Curtis! But, I did do a few changes. There were tons of butternut soup recipes online, I picked a few, did a bit of experimenting with the ingredients and here is my version that worked best for me.

Makes : 5-6 servings

Ingredients you will need:

1 medium-sized butternut squash
1 tbsp olive oil + for drizzling over the squash
1 cup roughly chopped yellow onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 Tbsp butter
3 small bay leaves
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 cups vegetable broth
Salt & Pepper – to taste
1/4 cup Heavy cream + garnishing

The above ingredients are for a basic butternut squash soup recipe to cook up the simple and filling soup. But there are two twists to this basic recipe: Addition of tart apples & Celery! (add it along with onions and garlic)

Preparation:

There are three methods to cook the squash,

Method 1: No need to peel the squash

Cut squash into two (length wise) and remove the seeds. You need not peel the skin off

Place them with the cut side up and generously sprinkle salt and pepper, drizzle good quality olive oil and roast the squash in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour at 425 degrees F.

After 45 minutes, using a fork, check if the squash is tender and cooked all the way. If not continue to roast in oven till tender. Spoon out the pulp.

Method 2: Peel and Chopped squash

Peel the squash and chop it into cubes

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the cut and peeled butternut squash on a sheet pan covered with aluminium foil and toss them with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread in a single layer and roast for 35 to 45 minutes, tossing occasionally, until tender

Method 3: Peel and Chopped squash – No oven, no tension:

Peel the butternut squash

Cut the butternut squash and onions into 1-inch cubes.

Peel garlic.

In a large pan, over medium heat, add olive oil. Roast onions, garlic and butternut squash till tender. Sprinkle salt and pepper as they cook.

Soup Preparation

Add a tbsp of olive oil, Sautee the onions and garlic (whole) with little salt and pepper till the garlic is soft and tender.

Transfer the chopped roasted squash/pulp, sauteed onions and garlic to blender. You can choose to use a hand-held blender in the pot directly instead of  transferring to a Blender.

Blend to smooth paste using 1/4-1/2 cup vegetable broth.

In the same pan, add butter, bay leaves and the pureed onions-garlic-squash. Add nutmeg powder and remaining vegetable broth. Adjust the quantity of the vegetable broth as per the consistency you prefer.

Add heavy cream for a creamy, rich texture and check for salt and pepper, adjust as per taste.

Now you have three ways to choose to cook the squash! So don’t let any hassle stop you from making this delicious and filling soup.

Serve hot with some croutons and a dash of heavy cream.

Happy cooking