Butternut Squash Soup

So I've been sick for the past three days due to a freak migraine, and decided last night to make some soup that isn't the traditional Chicken Noodle Soup that I ate last week (when I wasn't sick, ironically. I made it for my mother.). Then I stumbled upon this, and you can't go wrong with this stuff:

(The original)

Butternut Squash Soup II
Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, chopped
• 2 medium potatoes, cubed
• 1 medium butternut squash - peeled, seeded, and cubed
• 1 (32 fluid ounce) container chicken stock
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a large pot, and cook the onion, celery, carrot, potatoes, and squash 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Pour in enough of the chicken stock to cover vegetables. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 40 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender.
2. Transfer the soup to a blender, and blend until smooth. Return to pot, and mix in any remaining stock to attain desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

(Link to the original is here)

Amazing!! Here's my take:
- Don't add salt. In fact, I don't even remember adding pepper. You can always add pepper when serving it. If you don't have a pepper grinder, GET ONE!
- Squash is a b*tch to peel/seed/cube. I know electricity is expensive these days, but if you're like me and not like my dad, throw it in the mini-oven at 400 F for an hour. The skin will come off easily (like roasted yam, as my dad said). Careful, it's hot! You won't need to cube it either. Just halve it, seed it, peel it, and then throw in medium-sized chunks of the "meat" into the pot.
- Use 1 potato. Some people suggest using 1 potato and 1 sweet potato. Haven't tried it yet, let me know how it goes. 2 potatoes might take away from the squash.
- Add 2 cloves of garlic. Then lightly brown the garlic and onion, just so that the aroma comes out and it's slightly tender. If the garlic gets dry or too cooked, then you're losing some of its "powers".
- If you experience too much "brownness" when browning the vegetables, honestly, just throw in the chicken broth. Browning of the other vegetables isn't really necessary. I only did it for the garlic and onion. Mmm.
- If 32 fl oz of chicken broth sounds too salty for you (my can has 690 mg per 2/3 cup! D:), just use a smaller can and add water. I used a 14.5 fl oz can and then added water after pureeing.
- If you find it a little bland, try a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg. And a few drops of Frank's Red Hot Sauce (although I really don't taste any "hotness").
- You want it to be super smooth. So if you've outblended your blender and it's still not pureed to perfection, take a strainer and get all the chunks out, then blend that with just enough soup to cover it, strain, and repeat if necessary.
- Wow. Please try serving this with a small dollop of sour cream. It's heavenly. I added two dollops directly into the soup after pureeing and adding water, and had just a little more sour cream on my spoon to mix into my own bowl.


LolaFresh Butternut Squash Soup
yield: 6
prep: 1 hr
cook: 50 mins
ready in: 1 hr 50 mins

Ingredients

• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, chopped
• 1 medium potato, cubed
• 1 medium butternut squash
  
• 1 (14.5 fluid ounce) can chicken stock
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• a dash of nutmeg
• 4 drops Frank's Red Hot Sauce (or 1/2 teaspoon dried cayenne)
  
• 1 (14.5 fluid ounce) can water, and some to achieve desired consistency.
  
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 large dollop of sour cream (and more to serve)

Materials

• 1 mini-oven
• 1 stovetop
  
• 1 large pot
• 1 cutting board
• 1 cutting knife
• 1 spoon
• 1 wooden spoon
• 1 blender
• 1 strainer
  

Directions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 F. Place a clean butternut squash into the oven. Roast for 50 mins. Leave 5-15 mins before the squash is finished to prepare the other vegetables. During the remaining time, you may watch your favourite sitcom, listen to your favourite music, and/or study for your exam.
   
2. Remove the squash from the oven and place onto a large plate or cutting board. Halve the squash and let it cool for 5-10 minutes, or immediately start seeding with a spoon and peeling it. Careful of hot steam.
3. Melt the butter in a large pot, and cook the onion and garlic for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned.
   
4. Add the other vegetables. Pour in the chicken stock (and water, use the can) to cover vegetables. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, and hot sauce and stir. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 40 minutes. Stir occasionally.
   
5. Transfer the soup to a blender, and blend until smooth. Strain if necessary, using a spoon to speed up the straining. Blend the remaining pieces and repeat if necessary.
   
6. Return to pot, and mix in water to attain desired consistency.
   
7. Add sour cream. Season to taste. Serve with a small dollop of sour cream and freshly ground black pepper.

And wash everything! Comment/Question/Follow