Butternut Squash Soup

Now Halloween is done with, we (in America) are racing toward our next big holiday, Thanksgiving. Last year my brother-in law and his wife did the honors, and the year before that my mother-in-law, so this year I’m up! This means the next few recipes from me will all be things that might make it onto my holiday menu. To begin with, here’s a soup that makes a wonderful first course. It’s an easy recipe that you can make ahead of time. It’s low in calories, but still full of fabulous flavor. This recipe originated from The Daily Soup Cookbook, which has some of my favorite soup recipes, more of which I’m sure, will show up here on GF&H at some point.
Butternut Squash Soup
Makes 10 cups

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion (or 2 small ones!) chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
6 cups vegetable stock (I cheat and use Knorr Bouillon Cubes)
1 piece of Parmesan rind – about 3″ by 1″
2 bay leaves
2 butternut squash (about 1.5 lbs each) peeled, seeded and cut into 1″chunks
2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan
3 fresh sage leaves chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
Heavy cream for drizzling at the end

Melt the butter over a medium heat, add the onion and celery and sweat for about 5 minutes. Add in the stock, parmesan rind and bay leaves, then bring to the boil, before lowering the heat and letting it simmer (partially covered) for 15 minutes. Now add the squash, bring it back to a simmer and cook it for a further 20 minutes. Now it’s time to remove the Parmesan rind and the bay leaves and puree the soup until smooth with a stick/ hand blender. Lastly add the grated parmesan, nutmeg, pepper, chopped sage and cayenne, heat it through for a couple more minutes and then you’re ready to serve with just a small drizzle of cream – Melani [print-me]