It’s true – I’m a soup fiend.
I love nothing more than to fire off a pot of soup on a rainy Sunday, to nuke a bowl for lunch in the middle of the week, or to experiment with new recipes on a lazy Saturday. Now that winter has us firmly in her grasp, ’tis the season of heartier soups – at least for me.
My latest experiment was a roasted butternut squash soup in the slow cooker, and my friends, it was DELICIOUS. Feel free to tweak the recipe to your tastes and to eyeball how much to include – I know I did, taking inspiration from at least three recipes to create this one!
Something you’ll quickly learn about me – I tend not to be a precise chef, merely a “toss it in til it looks right” chef. Just go with it…
Ingredients:
- Roasted butternut squash (it’s SO much easier to buy pre-cut, pre-cubed from the store, and just toss it in the oven)
- The trinity (you know, celery, carrots and onion, diced)
- butter
- Minced garlic
- chicken broth
- Thyme – fresh is better, but dried works in a pinch!
- heavy cream (hey, I never said I was a saint…)
- salt and pepper
Prep your squash and set aside, then toss in a tablespoon or two of butter in a medium heat skillet and cook down your trinity a bit, throwing in the garlic at the last minute so it doesn’t get bitter, and then thyme, so it starts getting all aromatic and tasty.
Into the slow cooker put your squash and veggies, then cover with chicken broth, and toss in some salt and pepper and some additional thyme to get things rolling as well. Let this hang out on high for a few hours (like, three) or low for six or seven.
I also admit – I can’t leave the slow cooker alone. I’m in there every once in a while, stirring and smelling. Don’t judge me.
Once it feels done to you, get your immersion blender out – or in my case, your ACTUAL blender – and blend this puppy down to the consistency you like. Slowly (slooowly) add some heavy cream until it’s the right texture and taste for you. Finish with a little additional seasoning to taste, then serve it up – I like to finish with some extra thyme and drizzle of olive oil. Serve with some crusty bread with the really good butter. You earned it!
stubbornsunshine.com 