Yipee! I have another successful soup recipe under my belt! I’m not a huge soup person – it’s never something I get cravings for. But I’m starting to think that maybe I just really like smooth, blended soups. I loved my Chioggia Beet Borscht, and now I love this Butternut Squash Bisque.

I had two butternut squash sitting on my counter for the last few weeks. I initially wanted to bake something with them (I was considering an old-fashioned butternut squash pie – like a pumpkin pie, but not), but then I decided that I should probably eat healthier 🙂 Kirk and I have been eating a lot of greens the last few days, and when I got home from work tonight I just didn’t like the idea of having yet more greens for dinner. I looked over at the counter, saw the squash, and decided on soup.

I saw this recipe in a book I picked up a Bookmans last night, “Dishing Up Vermont” by Tracey Medeiros. It stuck in my mind, and is the main reason why I looked at my squash and decided on soup. The ingredients are simple, and together they create an incredibly flavorful soup. I couldn’t believe how creamy it was given that it doesn’t actually have that much cream in it. Overall, I am very pleased. Kirk didn’t want soup tonight (he took one for the team and sauteed more greens for his dinner), but I’m hoping he’ll try it tomorrow and like it 🙂

In other news, I have some other projects (in addition to cooking) that I am starting to get into. Once I’ve done a little more with them, I’ll definitely share more info. I will tell you this, though: it involves using my shiny new jigsaw!

Butternut Squash Bisque (modified from Dishing Up Vermont)

Ingredients

• 4 cups of Vegetable Broth
• 2lbs Butternut Squash (this could be one large squash, or two small squash. I had two small squash, and they actually weighed about 1.85lbs)
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 3 Tbsp unsalted Butter
• 2 Tbsp minced fresh Ginger
• 2 Tbsp minced fresh Garlic
• 1/4 cup Heavy Cream
• 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
• Pepper (to taste)
• Minced Chives (to garnish)

Directions

• Slice the tops off the squash. Halve them lengthwise, ad scoop out and discard the seeds. Peel the squash with a vegetable peeler. Cut the peeled squash into 1-inch pieces.
• Place the squash, broth, salt, and 1 Tbsp butter in a soup-pot. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook until squash is fork tender, about 15 minutes. about 5 minutes before the squash is done, toss in the ginger and garlic.
• Working in batches (or using an immersion blender) puree the soup in a blender. If you use a blender, be careful to allow the steam to escape while blending – you don’t want to create a kitchen mess when the steam builds up and blows the top of the blender off 🙂
• Transfer the puree back to your pot. Add the remaining two Tbsp butter and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring to combine the butter. Slowly whisk in the cream and nutmeg and heat through.
• Add pepper to taste, and garnish with chives (if you want to…).