Best Butternut squash soup ever!

I love Butternut squash, actually I love all squash. Butternut squash soup is one of my favorite things to eat. You can make it so many ways, with so many ingredients and I have had some really good renditions. But this recipe is hands down, one of the best I have ever made or ate. I think it was the double amount of squash that made it so rich and velvety. Most recipes call for one squash but I had two on hand and thought, why not? The blue cheese toasts on top were delicious. A great contrast to the mild flavor of the soup.

Butternut squash soup with blue cheese toasts
(Makes about 10 – 12 cups)

3 ½ to 4 pounds Butternut squash
6 cups vegetable broth (I used Imagine Organic No-Chicken Broth)
2 TBSP olive oil plus more for roasting squash
1 large white onion chopped
4 ribs celery chopped
3 to 4 cloves minced garlic
1 TBSP dried thyme
¼ cup dry white wine
1 cup fat free half and half
Salt and pepper to taste
Blue cheese toasts (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Halve squash lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Rub with olive oil and place face down on a cookie sheet (I also sprayed the cookie sheet with Pam). Roast until squash is fork tender, about 40 minutes. Cool slightly and peel off skin and any burnt parts.

In a large soup pot, heat olive oil and sauté garlic, onion and celery for about 5 minutes. Deglaze with white wine and cook for a few more minutes. Add thyme, squash and vegetable stock and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. Puree in batches in a blender until smooth. Return to pot and add non-fat half-and-half and salt and pepper. Slowly reheat and serve. If it is to thick for your taste add a little more broth to thin.

Blue cheese toasts
2 or 3 ounces blue cheese (I think gorgonzola would be really good too).
2 tsp butter
8 baguette slices

Lightly toast baguette slices. Mash together butter and blue cheese and spread on toast. Broil on until cheese melts and is bubbly.

Roasted pepper soup with polenta croutons

I had several peppers sitting in my fridge threatening to go bad and decided to try making soup with them. Wow! What a good idea. This soup gave me a new appreciation for the flavor of roasted peppers. The polenta croutons were a total fluke. I had left over polenta in the fridge and decided to cube it, broil it in the oven and add them. Perfect addition! The accompanying eggplant in the photo is what my cousin Ely referred to as “Amuse-Bouche”, one bite appetizer. I didn’t make it but it was so good I had to put it in the photo. 

Photograph by Ely Teragli (My talented cousin)

Roasted pepper soup
(Makes about 8 cups)

6 peppers, roasted, peeled  and seeded (I used a mix of red and yellow)
1 TBSP olive oil
1 large sweet onion chopped
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1 TBSP flour
1 tsp ground sage
3 cups vegetable broth (I used Imagine Organic No-Chicken Broth)
Salt and pepper to taste
Crème fraîche (for garnish)
Parmesan cheese (for garnish)
Balsamic vinegar (for garnish)

Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat; add onion and garlic and sauté for about 3-5 minutes. Add peppers and 2 ½ cups vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer uncovered. Combine ½ cup broth, sage and flour in a bowl (I use my magic bullet for this) and whisk together until smooth. Add to soup and continue to simmer for about 10 minutes stirring frequently. Cool. Working in batches, process soup in a blender or food processor until smooth. Return to stove and slowly reheat. Add salt and pepper. Top with a dollop of Crème fraîche, parmesan cheese, a little balsamic vinegar and polenta croutons (all optional but really made the soup excellent).