Butternut Squash Soup

Oh. My. Gosh. This soup is amazing!

How amazing? Lick the bowl amazing. Lick your spoon amazing. Lick your boyfriend's bowl amazing.

..don't judge me.

It really is that good. And so far, everyone who's tasted this soup has tried a spoonful, paused, looked at me with wide eyes and said something along the lines of 'Wow' or 'That's incredible!' or 'There's no meat in that?' Yeah, I didn't really understand that last comment...BUT this soup does have amazing flavor, is filling without being heavy, is incredibly healthy, and is somehow almost better cold than it is hot! Though, as both versions are so delicious, it's hard to compare.

Am I getting the point across? About how good this soup is? About how you should make it right now? I hope so.

If not, consider this: at a dinner party last week I broke our blender! Why? Because I was unwilling to not make this soup. The bad part? No more soup until we get a new blender!

This recipe is adapted from one I found at Smitten Kitchen. The first time I made this soup I also made my own version of the croutons, but since I want this post to focus on the soup, just trust me: the croutons are really really good!

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:
1/4c (1/2 stick) unsalted butter (I imagine canola oil would work well instead of butter)
10c 1/2in cubes of fresh butternut squash (about 1 large squash).
2 cans low sodium vegetable stock
1 large white onion, finely diced.
3 cloves minced garlic (or: 2 heaping spoonfuls of jarred minced garlic)*
3 sage leaves, minced*
1tbsp dried thyme
1/2tsp ground ginger*
1tsp salt*
1tsp pepper*
1/8c whipping cream (or half and half)

*I eyeball the spices in this recipe based on flavors I'm craving in the moment. If you like more sage, add another leaf or two! If you like lots of salt and pepper, add more! This recipe is great for adjusting to your personal flavor preferences!

Directions:
In a large soup pot melt the butter on medium heat. Once melted, add the onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent (about 5-7 minutes). Add the stock, squash, and spices. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat back to medium and cover, stirring occasionally. Once the squash is cooked all the way through (a fork should easily spear the squash) turn the heat off. In batches appropriate for your blender, puree the soup (Note: make sure each batch going into the blender has some broth in it--otherwise the squash won't blend easily). Pour blended soup into a large serving bowl. Once all the soup has been blended, stir in the whipping cream.

Enjoy!