Butternut Squash Soup Backyard Farming Style

I don't think I appreciated it as a child, when my Dad would make homemade chicken noodle soup, or my Grandma made her hamburger soup with shredded carrots. I always felt like soup was an adults way of tricking kids into eating stuff that we normally wouldn't eat. I would skip out on the soup and fill up on bread.

As I have grown up and my palate has grown more refined I have come to appreciate soups and stews. As the winter months approaches, I love adding root vegetables and squash to yummy broths. I love the earthy flavors they provide, and the fact that root vegetables and squash last through the winter if they are in a cool place, means their soups can warm us up throughout the cold months. Marisa loves butternut squash soup so I make it for her a couple of times a year. This recipe will give you a soup with a nice clean butternut taste.

Butternut Squash Soup

2 medium to large butternut squash
Olive Oil
4 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
2 medium onions sliced
6 garlic cloves sliced
2 cups cream
1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
2 Tablespoons Honey
Salt to Taste
Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400
Halve butternut squash and bake in a baking dish or on cookie sheet for 40 to 50 minutes until squash is fork tender.
Add olive oil to saucepan over medium heat
Add onion and garlic to saucepan and cook until onions begin to caramelize
Add Chicken Broth, Squash, nutmeg, honey, salt, pepper
Simmer for 15 minutes
Add Cream and then lend with an immersion blender or a food processor until completely smooth.

I like a little texture in my soup so I toast shelled pumpkin seeds in a frying pan and add them as a garnish. Shelled pumpkin seeds can be found in most Latin markets and are labeled as pepitas. If you can't find pepitas you can also add croutons.

This soup has a few variations that I like to play with. Marisa likes the soup when it is sweeter so I add a few tablespoons extra of honey for her. If you want the soup more savory, you can exclude the honey all together.

Another variation that I like is to replace the nutmeg with curry powder and the cream with coconut milk which gives it more of an Indian slant.

I have other soup recipes to share in the future but as we continually state at Backyard Farming, we like to learn from all of you.

If you have a favorite soup recipe that you would like to send us with an article or pictures we will post it them on our website. Send them in. I am excited to try some of your recipes as well.

Email your soup recipes to backyardfarmingblog@gmail.com

Michael