D-lish Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

by D G

Butternut squash soup is probably my favorite fall dish, but living in Miami, fall simply means it’s less than 90 degrees outside so why wait til late September to enjoy this yumminess?

Butternut Squash Soup

This soup is loaded with sweet butternut squash, sweet yellow onions, garlic, sage, thyme, carrots, a Granny Smith apple, coconut milk, sea salt, black pepper and topped with a dash of heavy cream and crispy bacon bits. Honestly, though, anything topped with bacon bits is amazing, right?

 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 4 slices bacon, diced
  • 1 medium sweet yellow onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 sage leaves, minced (you can substitute for ground sage spice)
  • 3 sprigs fresh thyme (you can also substitute with ground thyme)
  • 1 (2 1/2 pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed (or cheat and buy a bag of frozen diced butternut squash if you’re in a hurry)
  • 1/1/2 cups of shredded carrots
  • 1 stalk celery, cut into 1-inch pieces (I usually skip this because I don’t love celery)
  • 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and chopped
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • A pinch of sugar (or tbsp of maple syrup)
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Turn your stove to high setting and sauté bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Pro tip: I use kitchen scissors to cut the bacon before cooking to skip a step at the end. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
  2. Add onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in garlic, sage and thyme until fragrant, about 1 minute.
  3. While that is cooking, I place the butternut squash, carrots, celery, apple, vegetable broth, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper into my electric pressure cooker. Add the onion, garlic, sage and thyme to the pot. Select soup setting; cook for about one hour. When finished cooking, quick-release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions.
  4. Next add your coconut milk and pinch of sugar (or maple syrup)
  5. Puree with an immersion blender until desired consistency is reached, season with salt and pepper, to taste.
  6. Serve immediately, with a dash of heavy cream, sprinkled with bacon and chives.

 

On this day, I did not have my usual finish of bacon, cream, or chives so I improvised, which is totally allowed. That is the beauty of soups. There aren’t many rules.  Set a beautiful table with complementing flowers and voila! You have a little taste of fall poolside anytime of the year…if you live here. Otherwise, might want to take it indoors. Bon Appetit!

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