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It is finally turning into soup weather, especially with that sleet we had this morning, so I decided to make a butternut squash soup for lunch this week. I made this like I make most of my soups, roasted and pureed. I also made some gruyere and herb toasts to go with it. It really hit the spot on this chilly day.

Makes 4 servings

Total time 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

For the soup
2 small or 1 large butternut squash about 3-4 cups
1 tablespoon butter
1 piece of bacon
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 glove of garlic
4 cups chicken stock

For the toasts
8 baguette bread slices (or however many you want)
butter
1 teaspoon rosemary
¼ cup shredded gruyere

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Place squash on a tray cut side up. Divide butter evenly among the squash and place in cavity, salt and pepper. After the butter melts I brush it on the cut side of the squash. Cook for about 30 minutes or until tender. Remove from oven and let cool so you can handle them. Remove the skin and roughly chop. Everything is getting pureed so it doesn’t matter how big the pieces are.

Roasted

Cut bacon into small piece and cook in a pot until crisp. Add red pepper flakes and minced garlic. Cook about 1 minute and make sure not to brown the garlic. Add squash. Stir all ingredients together and scrape the bottom of the pot. Add chicken stock and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and puree with a hand blender until smooth. I simmered mine some more after that since it was a little too thin for my taste. Salt and pepper to taste.

Simmer

Pureed

Lightly butter one side of the bread and toast under the broiler until golden. Be sure to keep an eye on them since the broiler can turn on you in a second. Flip the slices over top with rosemary and cheese and toast until melted. You can serve the soup topped with croutons however I prefer mine on the side.

Toasts

Lunchtime