Velveteen Butternut Squash Soup

I was just watching a Masterclass by David Seders on writing and he mentioned that he often writes 13+ drafts of his stories, so I’m going to chalk loosing my first amusing draft of this recipe up getting back into the world of writing.  

This butternut squash soup is supremely velvety, and amazingly delicious.  We have a family of 5 (though only three of us ate it) and I will definitely double the recipe next time.

I am going to give you ingredients, but not exact amounts for everything because this is a very forgiving soup. Also I want you experiment.  Measurements can be the death of a recipe.

I will post a second recipe for a vegetable stock . . . here you can use a homemade one or a boxed one (though if you go boxed, check the sodium and adjust based on taste because you don’t want it too salty).

Ingredients:
-1 large butternut squash
-Olive Oil
-2 Large shallots
-sea salt
-black pepper
-4 gloves of garlic, smashed
-nutmeg (and a microplane)
-4 cups of vegetable broth
-1-2 Tablespoons of grass fed butter
-Aleppo pepper (preference black will be fine too)
-1 bunch of sage

Instructions:
(1) Preheat the oven to 425F.  Place your butternut squash flesh side up . . . rub with oil. (You want your squash glistening, not goopy with oil).  Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and black pepper.  Place flesh side down on your sheet tray and place in the oven for approx 45 minutes.  You can check to see if your squash is cooked by piercing with a pearing knife - if should slide right through the flesh.  Set the squash aside when it’s done and wait until it’s cool enough to handle . . . the skin will peel right off and then cut the flesh into large chunks.  If you have any crust on your sheet tray (that’s flavor) deglaze with a little ladle of broth and a wooden spoon (pour liquid into a bowl and set aside — when you get to the step with adding the stock, add this liquid then - it’s liquid gold flavor wise).
(2) Place a large pot over a medium flame and allow pan to heat up.  Once heated, add about 1 Tablespoon of oil . . . throw in shallots and garlic, sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.  Cook until fragrant and soft . . . a few minutes depending on your stove strength.  You can have a golden color but don’t burn it.  Add squash and allow the flavors to meld for a minute or two.  Then add your stock . .  .allow all the flavors to dance around on a low simmer for 5 minutes or so.
(3) Carefully not filling your blender too high (and if you do, you’ll only make that mistake once), puree your soup in batches  and transfer to a clean pot.
(4) Again warm up the soup on a low flame and fold in the butter.  Grate about 1/4 tsp nutmeg in the soup (or to taste)

Fried Sage (AKA BEST PART)
Heat a sauté pant on medium heat.  Once the pan is hot, throw 1 T of butter in and allow it to brown slightly (it should smell nutty, not burnt).
Place your sage leaves in a singe layer in the pan for about 1 minute, the smell will encompass you and you’ll know you’re ready to flip.  Flip once, you can feel a leaf to test done-ness, you want it crispy not limp.  Once your texture is right (and feel free to add a bit more butter if the sage sucks it up) place on a paper towel lined plate and sprinkle with sea salt.

Plate in a soup bowl or shallow bowl, with finger-crumbled sage and top with aleppo pepper and a bit of Maldon Sea Salt (which if you don’t own, you should).

-Whole process took me about 1 hour and i was making stock during that time as well.  (Stock recipe separate post).

---