Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Butternut Squash and Roasted Garlic Bisque

This is currently my favorite fall soup. Delicious, and easy. I got it from one of the farms up on Apple Hill.

2 whole heads of garlic/halved crosswise
1 teaspoon olive oil
¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter
3 cups chopped onion
¾ cups chopped carrots
½ cup chopped celery
4 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into one-inch pieces
6 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage (I actually think it's better when made with dried sage. Add fresh as a garnish at the end).
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon whipping cream

Preheat oven to 350F. Rub cut surfaces of garlic with oil. Put halves back together to resemble heads. Wrap each tightly in foil; bake until tender, about 40 minutes. Let garlic cool in foil.

Mix butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onions, carrots and celery: sauté until onions begin to soften, about five minutes. Add squash, broth and 2 tablespoons sage. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer uncovered until squash is tender; about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, unwrap garlic. Squeeze from skins into small bowl and discard skins. Mash garlic with fork until smooth.

Stir garlic into soup. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth, or use an immersion blender. Return to pot. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Refrigerate uncovered until cold. Cover and keep refrigerated. Bring to simmer before continuing.) Stir in ½ cup cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer soup to tureen. Drizzle with remaining tablespoon of cream. Sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon of sage.

3 comments:

Sandy said...

That sounds sooooo good! Might just have to try this one!

Katie said...

This isn't realated to your post at all, but do you know when your episode of Millionaire is going to air, I don't want to miss it while we are moving.

And I would like to see our red heads next to each other. They are a couple of cuties!

The Bunker Family said...

I can't make anything with more than 5 ingredients these days. Would it work if I just threw in a can of chicken noodle soup instead of all those herbs, broth and stuff? Yes, feel sorry for my husband. He suffers. Poor him.