Gluten Free Butternut Squash Soup | Foodie Friday

So, I changed my mind: Instead of Recipe Sunday, let’s do Foodie Friday! Just rolls off the tongue better 🙂

One of my favorite types of winter recipes are soups! After spending the day out in cold weather, there is something very comforting about a hot serving of soup to combat the insistent chill. Not to mention, they are relatively fun and easy to make! Most of the time I don’t use an exact recipe when I make soup. I start by reading 3 or 4 different recipes for the same kind of soup and then mix together the ideas that I think sound good from each. The problem is, sometimes I make a soup that we absolutely love, but I can’t remember exactly what I did . . . So, it ends up turning out a little different each time. This time, I made sure to write down each step as I went 🙂

Ingredients:

– two medium sized butternut squash

– two shallots

– one bulb of garlic

– 4-6 cups of chicken stock

– 1 cup of cooking sherry (I just used white wine)

– 4 tablespoons of butter (replace with coconut oil for a dairy free option)

– 2 cups of heavy cream (replace with coconut milk for a dairy free option)

– 4 tablespoons of olive oil

– spices : salt, pepper, red pepper, white pepper

Take a lesson from The French, cook with Shallots.

Directions:

1. Cut squash in half, lengthwise

2. Scoop seeds out of squash

3. Place a clove of garlic into each newly scooped depression

4. Pour melted butter (or coconut oil) evenly over squash

5. Salt & pepper squash to taste

6. Bake squash face up for 60 minutes (or till tender) at 450 degrees fahrenheit

(place parchment paper under the squash to protect your baking sheet) 

…. while the squash is baking ….

7. Sauté  chopped garlic & shallots in olive oil

8. Add 4 cups of chicken stock & one cup of cooking sherry

(for a thinner soup use 6 cups of chicken stock)

9. Add salt, black pepper, white pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste

10. When squash is done cooking, scoop meat out of shell and add to stock pot

11. Simmer for 25 minutes

12. Blend soup with an immersion blender or transfer hot mixture to a blender

13. Blend until smooth

14. If necessary, return soup to your stock pot, then add about 2 cups of heavy cream, stir in evenly.

(if you like, reserve a little heavy cream to splash a fun design in your bowl of soup)

Enjoy!

What do you think of this recipe? What recipes would you like to see on the blog in the future? Breakfast, dessert etc?