Time: 45mins – 1 hour
Ingredients
2 small butternut squash
1 medium carrot, shredded
1/2 small red onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4-6 cups vegetable stock
1/2 to 3/4 cup half& half/ light cream
1/2 cup butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 nutmeg, grated
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Salt & pepper
Chives
Halve the butternut squash, scoop out the seeds and lay cut side up on a deep baking dish. Fill the dish with an inch of water and bake the squash for 45 mins – 1 hr in a pre-heated 375F oven until soft. Peel the skin off and mash until fine. Meanwhile, heat the oil and butter in a deep soup pot and sauté the onions, carrots, celery and garlic with a pinch of salt till soft and translucent (about 5-7 minutes). Pour in 2 cups of vegetable stock and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes until the veggies are soft. Add in the mashed squash puree, 2 cups of stock, cinnamon, nutmeg. Adjust salt & pepper to taste. Simmer on low heat for an additional 15 minutes. If the mixture becomes too thick, add in the remaining stock . The soup should be the thickness of light cream. Take the soup off the heat and puree it smooth in a blender or using an immersion blender. Return to the pot, add in the light cream (top off with more stock, if you like it thinner). Bring to just under a boil and take off the heat. Serve with snipped chives.