Of Squash and Soup

Though modern grocery store inventory doesn’t reflect much in the way of seasonal produce variety, every fall my Kroger is usually bursting with squashes, pumpkins, and gourds.  My mother is an avid squash lover, so I have many memories of building dinners around squashes during the cold months:  stuffed acorn squash, roasted butternut squash, salads with squash “croutons,” and many kinds of squash casseroles.  I’ve been surprised as an adult by those who are apprehensive to purchase squashes due to ignorance of preparation techniques.  Therefore, I’ve created a step-by-step guide to making butternut and acorn squash soup that I hope will convert the faithless.  I also recently read a great guide to butternut squash by the Mighty Martha that is worth checking out.

Winter Squash Soup

3 tbsp butter

1 medium onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

24 oz. chicken or vegetable broth

1 acorn squash (about 1.5 pounds), peeled and cubed

1 butternut squash (about 1.5 pounds), peeled and cubed

1 can white beans, rinsed

1 tsp fresh sage, minced

1 tsp fresh thyme, minced

1 tsp red chili flakes

1 cup light cream

 Peel the butternut squash with a vegetable peeler.  To clean the acorn squash, peel the outside ridges, then cut into lengthwise sections and trim off outside skin with a knife to clean out the crevices.  Scoop out seeds and cut into roughly 1 inch cubes.

 Melt the butter in a large pot and sauté onions until translucent. Then add garlic, cooking for another minute.  Add squash, beans, seasonings, and broth.  If the liquid doesn’t cover the vegetables, add water until everything in the pot is immersed.

 Bring the soup to a boil, cover it, and reduce the heat to a simmer and let it cook for about an hour until the vegetables are very tender.  Remove from heat and cool for about 15 minutes.  Puree the soup using an immersion wand, food processor, or blender.  Test soup for seasonings, add more salt if needed, or honey if lacking sweetness.

 Return to a low heat, and add cream and stir until well blended. (The texture I like to shoot for is thick enough to be hearty, but thin enough to not look like baby food.  The cream usually brings the soup to that consistency, but if it still seems too thick I sometimes add in more chicken or vegetable broth.) Serve right away or store it.  This recipe makes a lot of soup, so I froze half of it for when it really starts to cool off!

 We served ours up as a dinner with a bacon, tomato, and cheddar grilled cheese sandwich, and the salty and sweet combo was a perfect match.