A Solid Soup

Time for an easy recipe!  As you know, I love leftovers.  One of the best “eat all week” dishes we make is soup.  My favorite is butternut squash.  It’s a nice, warm, creamy, hearty dish that can be a meal or side dish or snack.  Versatile.  You will see that it is extremely easy to make (just a few ingredients), and it is healthy! Here we go…

What you need:

-1 butternut squash

-1 peeled cubed pink lady apple (optional)

-1 medium onion (white or yellow) diced

-Chicken stock (water or veggie stock is fine too)

-Some cinnamon

-Some nutmeg

-Pinch of salt and pepper

-Pinch of cayenne pepper

-Bacon! (optional, but delicious…as always) – if you want to use it, dice it up and cook it on medium-low until crisp.  Remove from pot  and set aside leaving grease in pot.

-Olive oil, coconut oil or fat rendered from bacon

-A soup pot

-A blender

-First, peel the squash until the surface is a nice, bright orange (peel away the white).  Dice the squash into approx. 1 inch cubes.  Start by cutting in half the long way, scoop out the seeds and pulp, and then cube it up.

-Sweat the chopped onion in either olive oil, coconut oil (adds a nice little flavor), or bacon fat on medium low until translucent and limp.  Do not let them brown.

Pictured in coconut oil, but I prefer bacon fat :)

-Add the cubed squash, apple, and enough chicken stock to almost cover the cubes (less stock, thicker soup).  Boil, then simmer the squash until it is fork tender.

I like mine a bit thicker...

-Pour the pot into a blender and CAREFULLY puree it until smooth (in batches if necessary). 

-Add the puree back into the pot.  Add about a teaspoon of cinnamon and nutmeg, the salt, pepper, and cayenne.  You can adjust the seasonings to taste.

-Simmer for about 15-20 minutes.  Serve and top with bacon bits (if you wanna).

Served alongside a random seared shrimp/onion/chard saute

Save the rest and eat it all week as a side dish or lunch or whenever else you feel like it!  Enjoy!