butternut squash soup

In my family's garden we grow an overwhelming number of squash. I don't know why, but last year we went a little crazy and planted just about every variety we knew of and lots of it. And because they are known to last over the winter months we always had some on hand. The butternut squash became one of our favorites, for the taste, texture and versatility. Todd and I then perfected a butternut squash soup recipe. I've made it a few ways; this happens to be the healthiest, and most liked.



1 butternut squash (medium sized, just over 2 lbs.)
1 onion, chopped
5 T. butter
1 T. freshly grated ginger
1 bunch of fresh thyme
3 c. chicken broth
Sour cream, and chives for garnish
Salt and pepper

Cook butternut squash; bake, boil, microwave, steam, any way you like. If you’ve never cooked a squash before, I would suggest splitting it down the middle, removing the seeds, and baking it on a greased cookie sheet, or baking pan, face side down. (I sometimes will put foil down on the pan first, then use olive oil or vegetable oil on the foil, just to make clean up easier). Bake for 50 minutes to an hour, or until tender. Set aside to cool.
In a medium sauce pan, melt butter and cook the onion and ginger until golden brown, just a few minutes. Thyme generally doesn’t need to be chopped, you can run your fingers down the sprig and gather the leaves; add to pan, and cook for another minute. Take off heat.
Once cool, scoop squash out (it should separate easy from the skins) and add to the pan with the onion and put back on low heat until the squash heats back up and is mixed with the onion and ginger. Add the chicken broth to pan and once it heats up to a warm boil, simmer for about 10 minutes. You can add water until the mixture reaches the desired texture. Salt and pepper to taste. Take off heat, and with a hand held blender you should be able to get the mixture as smooth as cream. If you don’t have a hand held blender, you can use a counter top blender or a food processor.
Keep the soup on a low heat until ready to serve. I like to serve each bowl with a dollop of sour cream and a few chopped chives, and if you like the ginger flavor, you could also sprinkle some ginger on top.

*This is the healthy version of the recipe. You can use cream instead of chicken broth, for a smoother and more filling recipe, or half cream, half broth.
If you don’t like ginger feel free to take it out of the recipe, as well as the thyme. You should use at least one, but you can substitute it for any flavor, such as garlic (fresh or garlic salt).