Equal Parts

What has surprised me most about this website is how much I reference it to cook my own food. That wasn’t my intent. I started this blog to fill some free time and inspire motivation to complete small writing projects. The idea had been with me for a while, and execution took all of perhaps thirty-seven minutes. I came home one day, announced check out what I did, and pulled up my write-up on the ham and cheese baguette. It was immediately so satisfying I regretted not starting earlier.

Still, I didn’t anticipate how often I would check my own website to compile a grocery list or make dinner. Just yesterday I pulled up ranch dressing, beet smoothie bowls, and ginger meatballs while prepping for the week, and I wished I had this recipe to reference too.

Ah, where to begin with this soup… This is a very special soup. It was part of the first dinner Jeff ever made for me, on Halloween night of 2015. We also had it for dinner yesterday. In between we’ve probably made it 30+ times, on nights when we want something special, or when we can’t think of anything else to make. My mom asked us to bring a warm vegetable dish to Christmas Eve dinner last year, and I thought, a soup is a warm vegetable dish! Mastering this soup has provided the technical basis for all of my other puréed soups — and there have been a lot [Exhibits A, B, C, D, and more on the docket]. Simply put, this is a Classic J&J Recipe!

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP WITH SAGE, inspired by Giada de Laurentiis

You’ll need:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3lb (approximately 7-8 cups) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped into about 3/4-inch pieces (see notes below)
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock, plus more water if needed
1/4 cup fresh sage leaves, chopped
Salt and pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and carrot and cook until starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the squash and gently stir to combine. Add the vegetable stock and additional water if necessary. You want the liquid to just start to cover the vegetables; most should be fully submerged with some floating at the top. Add the sage. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer until squash is fully cooked and tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes, then use an immersion blender to purée. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

*You can buy pre-chopped butternut squash at many grocery stores these days, often in the freezer section. I recommend you do this if you’re not comfortable cutting the squash. However, it is much more expensive to buy pre-chopped. I like to use whole squash and cut it myself, and I exercise extreme caution when doing so. I always use a sharp knife, work slowly, work on a firm, flat surface (no wiggly cutting boards!), and cut flat edges to the squash immediately. If the squash is incredibly firm I also happened to inherit a knife that resembles a large version of a pumpkin-cutting knife designed for children, basically a hugely-serrated blade. It’s a bit messy (think of pumpkin-debris flying everywhere), but it gets the job done without having to use a lot of pressure (not a good idea when working with a sharp knife).

*I use 1-2 whole butternut squash, depending on the size, and I don’t obsess too much about the weight or quantity. I just adjust the amount of stock or water I use to balance it. If the cut squash really doesn’t yield what I intended, we’ve also added sweet potato, extra carrots, or another type of squash with great success. This soup is very versatile!