Classic Butternut Soup With Spiced Whipped Cream

As you probably already know I am a big soup fan. I say that and yet I noticed I don’t have that many soups on the blog. It should really reflect my love for them. I am working on that I promise. I’m told not too many people love lentils so I need to calm it down with my lentil soups so this season with be all about the hearty and delicious soups sans the lentils. I’m working on several. I’m hoping to get a really good tortilla one up along with a tortellini one, and so many more. One thing I did promise I would put up is my go to recipe for a classic and very basic butternut squash soup. It’s very similar to the pumpkin one I already have up but this time I wanted to share my go-to squash one that I have relied on for the last couple of years. It’s an easy one and it’s from Serious Eats.

The key to any good butternut squash soup not mater what you decide to flavour it with (cause there are so many delicious variations on it) is roasting your squash pieces until they are very golden brown and caramelised. You can boil the squash and have it tasting delicious but there is something special tasting about a soup that’s prepared with roasted veggies. That is not only in this soup but all soups that could allow for roasting some of the veggies like cauliflower soup or tomato soup similar to the ones I have on the blog. Roasting always gives the veggies a fabulous nutty aroma and always intensifies and brings out their natural sweetness and their delicious flavours. It’s strongly recommended. You won’t regret the extra time it takes to do this.

There are so many delicious versions of this soup and I totally love them all. I have a Thai one on the blog already but I can’t wait to experiment with other flavourings and add ins. Before I do that I thought it would be appropriate to share a classic one first. There are some wonderful ways to convert this classic recipe into a new one. You can add roasted apples, golden beets or sweet potato and even a different variety of squash or pumpkin to it. You can change the seasonings up a bit too by using curries or even miso to create a very different tasting butternut squash soup. We can’t forget the toppings. The toppings themselves have so much variety as well. From roasting and using the squash seeds with spices, to topping it with chili oils and cream and anything you can imagine.

I love the simplicity of the this spiced whip cream also from Serious Eats. It’s light and with the sour cream in it, adds a bit of tang. It’s delicious and a bit extra but worth making.

Whatever flavours you choose for your butternut squash soup or toppings there is one thing you should remember. The key to a fabulous butternut squash soup is roasting the squash until caramelised and nutty and fabulous! I was super happy to be able to make and post this recipe and join in on the #virtualpumkinparty (4th annual) hosted by Sara Cornelius. Check out the hashtag on Instagram and for full details check out our Sara’s blog for all the bloggers who contributed with a link to their recipes! This was so fun! Hope you check it out!

Ingredients

• 2½ lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 7 tbsp unsalted butter, divided (see note
• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 4 medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 4 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock, warmed, plus more as needed to thin out soup
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the spiced whip cream

• ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
• ¼ cup sour cream
• pinch ground cinnamon
• pinch nutmeg
• pinch of clove

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Toss squash and carrot with olive oil and arrange on 2 rimmed baking sheets. Try not to overcrowd pan.
3. Roast until squash and carrot are very well browned on a couple of sides, about 40 minutes; use a thin metal spatula to flip pieces 2 or 3 times during cooking. It’s ok if it a few pieces start to break down and soften. Once down remove from oven and set aside.
4. In a large saucepan, cook 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat until just starting to brown. Add onion and garlic, lower heat to medium, and cook, stirring, until soft and lightly golden, about 10 minutes; lower heat to prevent burning.
5. Then add the squash and carrot to saucepan and remove from heat.
6. Pour ½ cup of the warmed stock into each baking sheet and scrape up any browned bits, then pour into saucepan. All those brown bits have so much flavour.
7. Add remaining stock, thyme sprigs, and bay leaf and return to medium-high heat.
8. Bring to a simmer, then lower heat and simmer until vegetables are very soft, about 10 minutes.
9. Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaf.
10. Using a high-powered blender, standard countertop blender or immersion blender, blend soup until completely smooth.
11. Season with salt and pepper. Thin out soup to desired texture by adding more broth if needed.
12. Return the soup to saucepan and keep warm.
13. Meanwhile, in a stand mixer, or using a handheld mixer or whisk, beat cream and sour cream with cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and a pinch of salt, until stiff. Set aside.
14. Ladle soup into warmed bowls, spoon dollops of spiced whipped cream into each one, and garnish with a few sprigs of fresh thyme.
15. Serve right away.