I love the autumn in central/upstate New York. I love making and eating soup. I love buying produce from local farms and farmer's markets (when I am able to). With all this love around, a homemade squash soup was bound to manifest sometime or other.
A couple days ago I made a batch of homemade butternut squash soup from a butternut squash purchased at Bellinger's Orchard, local/regional farm (close to my hometown) in Fultonville, New York. My mom, sister, and I try to make it a tradition to go apple picking once a year at this orchard, despite the fact we all live in different parts of New York State at the moment with college and work. It's a pretty large orchard with a pick-your-own-apples (whatever the variety) and a pumpkin patch. `
It's very much in the middle of country fields and farms, but it has grown quite dear to our hearts. They also have a small general store in one of their barns when they make fresh apple cider doughnuts, sell jams, jellies, honey, produce, and other yummy foodie things like maple syrup and local cheeses. Each year I go with my family, I bring back an armful of various squashes to bring back to Syracuse to cook up in the fall and winter. I thoroughly enjoy a hot bowl of squash soup every autumn and look forward to it with late summer.
The recipe for this soup comes from Williams-Sonoma's book, Soup of the Day: 365 Recipes for Ever Day of the Year. Yes, I really love soup so much that I asked for this book last Christmas. Whether you're as much of a soup fanatic as I am or not, this book is really great for choosing soups with vegetables and ingredients that are in season; which is a great plus.
Ingredients:
1 butternut squash (peeled and diced in medium-sized cubes)
3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion (chopped)
4 cloves of garlic* (minced)
4 cups vegetable of chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon dried (or fresh) thyme
about 4 fresh sage leaves (chopped)
salt and pepper for taste
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with either waxed or parchment paper. Toss cubed squash in a large bowl with extra virgin olive oil and a little salt and pepper. Place on lined baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes (or until you can easily stick a fork through the squash).
Melt unsalted buter in a large pot and add the onion. Let the onion cook for a couple minutes, and then add the garlic. Saute until the onion is translucent, but before garlic browns. Add the roasted squash and broth of choice in large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 20-25 minutes.
Remove the soup from heat to allow it to rest for a couple of minutes. Puree the soup (in batches) with an electric blender or purree soup in pot with a hand-held immersion blender. (Personally I love my immersion blender for soups like this-it make things so much easier!!)
Now your soup is ready for a fresh lunch or supper! Feel free to add a little half-half or milk into your bowl or even add some toppings to your homemade soup like French-fried onion pieces, croutons, or parmesan cheese. I feel like a little crumbled goat or feta cheese would also pair nicely.
Enjoy!
**Note: I really love garlic and will add more than specified in recipes. If you don't feel the same way concerning this aromatic friend, please feel free to cut down the amount you use in your soup.
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