Butternut Squash Soup

One of my favorite things about autumn is butternut squash so I can make this soup. Especially when I can get squash for $1 each at the local farmer's market. The hardest part about this recipe is peeling and cutting the squash. And that isn't even all that bad.

This recipe was shared with me from my sister Ruth who found it from the Food Network (my favorite!). Thank you Giada de Laurentiis. And the crouton recipe is from Ruth. I haven't made Giada's crostini. I usually do Ruth's croutons. Today I was short on time, so I made a loaf of French bread in the bread machine and called it good. (It was good.)

Butternut Squash Soup

Serves:
4 to 6 servings

Ingredients
Soup:

* 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 3/4-inch pieces (about 7 to 8 cups)
* 6 cups low-sodium chicken stock
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh sage leaves (I used about 1 Tablespoon dried)
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper


Crostini:

* 1/2 baguette, sliced diagonally into 1/2-inch thick slices
* Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage leaves
* 1 cup (2 ounces) grated fontina cheese
* Kosher salt

Directions

In an 8-quart stockpot, add the butter and oil and melt together over medium-high heat. Add the onion and carrot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add the squash and the chicken stock. Bring the mixture to a boil and add the sage. Continue to boil until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat. Using an immersion blender, blend the mixture until smooth and thick. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Keep the soup warm over low heat.

For the crostini: Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Arrange the bread slices on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sage. Sprinkle the cheese on top and season with salt, to taste. Bake until the cheese has melted and the bread is light golden, about 6 to 8 minutes.

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the cheese crostini.

Cook's Note: The cooked vegetable mixture can also be pureed (after cooling for about 5 minutes) by ladling, in batches, into a food processor or blender and blended until smooth.

Ruth's croutons:

Also, instead of doing the crostini, I made my own croutons, and that worked out really well. To do that, take a loaf of french bread, and cut into med-thick slices, then allow to sit out overnight to dry out some (can skip this step, but plan on increasing your bake time by a bit). Cut into bite-sized cubes and put in a large bowl. Mix in some extra virgin olive oil to LIGHTLY coat (the cubes will not be completely coated. Some will only have a little bit of oil on them, and that's fine). Add garlic powder, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese, basil, oregeno, thyme (I usually use an "Italian seasoning" mix and I'm not entirely sure what's in it), to taste, and lightly toss. Dump bread chunks onto a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake at 225 for 20-30 min.

These are fantastic croutons. . . but to make them even more special for the soup, after baking for about 30 min. I sprinkled them with mozzerella cheese and baked at 400 for about 6 minutes. SO good!!! Then I just put a few in each bowl of soup. Worked really great for the kids.**



Update:

This makes a lot of soup, so I froze some for later. When I thawed it out it looked grainy. I was a little concerned, but once I heated it though it had the same smooth consistency as before it was frozen. The taste is just as great! I love this soup!