I don't have much in the way of soup for butternut squash because honestly? Just the taste of squash chunks caramelized in the oven tastes wonderful!
But here you go....no crock pot unfortunately.
Curried Butternut Soup
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 medium-size yellow onion, chopped
1 medium-siz carrot, peeled and sliced
1-1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubes
1 medium-size russet potato peeled and cubed
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1-1/2 Tbsp curry powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup milk (lowfat is ok)
1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)
1/2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp Hungarian sweet paprika
Freshly ground black pepper
Sour cream for garnish
Melt the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed stockpot set over medium-high heat. Add the onion and carrot; saute over medium heat about 3 minutes, until the onions begin to soften. Add the squash, potato, ginger, cinnamon, curry powder, and salt and saute for 2 minutes. Add the stock, milk, cream, honey, and paprika and bring the soup to a boil. Cover the pot, decrease the heat, and simmer the soup over low heat about 45 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.
Puree the soup in a blender in batches until smooth. Add black pepper to taste. If the soup seems too thick, add more milk or cream. Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream on top.
Note: A food processor will work to puree the soup, too. As will an immersion blender as Rockcat mentioned. I don't have an immersion blender, though.
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Butternut Squash and Bacon Bisque
1 3-pound butternut squash
1 tsp. oil
1 cup chopped onion
3 strips bacon, cut into small pieces
1 cup apple cider
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup cream or half-and-half (low-fat is OK)
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the stem off the squash, and cut lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and discard. Place the squash, skin side up, on a small sheet pan; the pan must have sides. Add 1-1/2 cups of water to the bottom of the pan, and bake at 350 degrees for 2 hours or until soft. Add more water as squash bakes if pan starts to dry out.
When cooked, cool and scoop out flesh and place in a small bowl. You should have about 3 cups squash. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan on medium heat, then add onions, bacon, and 1 tablespoon water. Cook about 10 minutes, then pour in the cider and bring to a simmer.
Mix in the squash and chicken broth, and return to a simmer. Simmer for about five minutes.
Remove from heat, and puree with an immersion blender or in a blender.
Pour in cream (or half-and-half) and mix it in; adjust flavor with salt and pepper.
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This is my favorite way to make butternut soup. You roast the vegetables first and then you make soup! It's an older Barefoot Contessa recipe that I just love.
Roasted Winter Vegetables
1 pound carrots, peeled
1 pound parsnips, peeled
1 large sweet potato, peeled
1 small butternut squash (about 2 pounds) peeled and seeded
3 Tbsp. good olive oil
1-1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Cut the carrots, parsnips, sweet potato, and butternut squash into 1-to-1-3/4 inch cubes. All vegetables shrink while cooking, so don't cut them too small.
Place all the vegetables in a single layer on two sheet pans. Drizzle them with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss well. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until all the vegetables are tender, turning once with a metal spatula.
Sprinkle with parsley, season to taste, and serve hot. Serves 8.
Roasted Winter Vegetable Soup
6-8 cups chicken stock
1 recipe Roasted Winter Vegetables (from above recipe)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For serving:
Croutons
Good olive oil
In a large saucepan, heat 6 cups of chicken stock. In two batches, coarsely puree the roasted vegetables and the chicken stock in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pour the soup back into the pot and season to taste. Thin with more chicken stock and reheat. The soup should be thick, but not like a vegetable puree, so add more chicken stock and/or water until it's the consistency you like.
Serve with croutons and a drizzle of good olive oil. Serves 6-8.
Note: I don't drizzle the olive oil over the soup. You can do the vegetable roasting one day and then, the next day, you can make the soup, if you want to do it that way. I usually double the amount of the vegetables and roast them to serve as a side dish one night. Then maybe one or two nights later, we'll have the soup as a quick dinner. Instead of croutons, make your favorite muffins or biscuits.
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Squash Bisque
2 squash (2 butternut or 1 acorn and 1 butternut)
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
3 cloves garlic, roasted in oven w/oil
Ground cinnamon
1 cup half-and-half or light cream (I use milk)
Light brown sugar--quite a bit
Nutmeg
Sour cream (garnish--optional)
Fresh chives (garnish--optional)
Halve squash, remove seeds. Cut in half. Bake at 400 degrees, cut side down for about 40 minutes. Scoop out flesh, puree in blender or processor until smooth. Add other ingredients and spices to taste. Vary amount of milk or broth to get desired consistency. Simmer approximately 30 minutes.
