I’m not sure what I was more excited about after receiving my Blendtec over Christmas…the blender or the recipe book that came with it. Honestly, it’s still a toss up! While the blender is pretty amazing, the recipe book includes tons of delicious, easy to make meals. I mean, what’s a blender without recipes, right?
Anyway, the other day I used my blender as a meal planning tool. Before going grocery shopping, I bookmarked a few recipes to try out this week and stocked up on all the necessary ingredients. And while I want to make everything in this new Blendtec recipe book, I decided to try out the Butternut Squash Soup first. Lucky for us, there were plenty of butternut squashes to choose from at the farmer’s market.
Now, many of you may be thinking, “the first thing she decides to make is soup?” Well, yes…for many reasons. First, the recipe doesn’t call for weird ingredients that will only be used once (I hate that). Second, aside from roasting the squash, prep work was minimal. And finally, it sounded like it would pair really well with our favorite rosemary bread. Win – win – win!
So y’all, make this soup. Please. You don’t need a powerful blender. I could’ve easily made this using the Ninja or even an immersion blender (I think).
Bottom line – this soup is delicious and makes for the perfect rainy night meal. It’s everything you could ever want – smooth, creamy, and fresh. Even Vishnu, who isn’t really a soup kind of guy, said it was delicious (more than once). Win! And for those of you who don’t live in Florida, this is the perfect winter soup…it will warm your soul!
Let me know if you try it out.
Simple Butternut Squash Soup
Adapted from the Blendtec Fresh Blends recipe book
1 large butternut squash
1.5 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped carrots
2 medium sweet onions
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 pinches of the following: dried parsley, dried oregano, and dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups water
4 (14 oz) cans vegetable broth
feta cheese crumbles for garnish
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut butternut squash in half lengthwise, piece skin with fork, and remove seeds. Place cut side down in a pan. Fill pan with 1/4 cup water. Bake for 45 minutes.
While squash is baking, heat olive oil in a large pot. Sauté carrots, onions and garlic for a few minutes and then add dried herbs, salt, and pepper. Continue to cook until the onion is translucent. Allow to cool for a a few minutes. Blend together water and cooked vegetable mixture (if using Blendtec select “Batters”). Add pureed mixture back to pot and add two cans of stock. Bring heat to low and allow to simmer. Once cooked and slightly cooled, scoop out flesh of squash. Blend flesh and the other two cans of stock (if using Blendtec select “Soup” and blend for 40 seconds). Pour into large pot, stir, and simmer for a few minutes. Garnish individual bowls with a sprinkle of feta cheese prior to serving.
Make this. You know you want to. And no worries, you can thank me later.
What’s your favorite kind of soup? I’m pretty much always game for a bowl of Minestrone.
Khushboo Thadani says
January 9, 2013 at 7:05 amYUM! Butternut squash soup is actually my all-time favorite….in the past I’ve made it with swede (I think the American term is “rutabaga”) and it comes out SO delicious! It’s pretty much the same recipe as above but just without the carrots and the addition of garlic!
Other soup favorites of mine include chicken noodle, tomato, minestrone and mushroom!
Parita says
January 9, 2013 at 7:53 amI’ve never cooked with rutabaga. I’ll have to check it out!
And thank for the reminder, K! I used 4 cloves of garlic and forgot to mention it in the recipe. Oops. Editing now!!
Aparna B. says
January 9, 2013 at 7:57 amI LOVE soup! It’s my go-to lunch during the work week! I need to make some butternut squash soup before the season is over! I’ve been meaning to, but I always assumed it was this arduous task to accomplish. Your recipe sounds way simple so I’ll definitely have to try it. Um, that rosemary bread sounds super boss by the way!
Parita says
January 10, 2013 at 10:30 pmIt was a lot easier than I thought it would be! AND there are so many variations. According to my recipe book, you can turn this into a Thai soup, a Mexican soup, an Indian soup, etc. The possibilities are endless!
Aparna B. says
January 11, 2013 at 9:14 amTurning it into an Indian soup would be so yum!! Imagine adding cumin and garam masala to it…and then toasted coconut on top. Om nom! Could be a lightened up version of a pulsu!
Kacy says
January 9, 2013 at 10:17 amSounds delicious. I always love soup!
Parita says
January 10, 2013 at 10:29 pmI’m a soup lover as well!
sprint2thetable says
January 9, 2013 at 1:17 pmsoup is an awesome first creation! i use my vitamix for it all the time… the fact that it can heat things fascinates me more than it should. 🙂
Parita says
January 10, 2013 at 10:29 pmOoh! I’ll have to look into the heating thing. Every time I use my blender, I’m amazed by its power. Haha!
dixya @ food, pleasure, and health says
January 9, 2013 at 4:02 pmwhat a great way to start the blender. i love how butternut squash ends up being so buttery, creamy and makes great weeknight meal. Btw, do you remember how much does this make? I love making a huge batch, freeze it for later use.
Parita says
January 10, 2013 at 10:28 pmSo if I had to guess, this makes at least 8 large servings if not more. Let me know if you decide to make it!
dixya @ food, pleasure, and health says
January 11, 2013 at 12:05 pmthank you! will probably make it one of these days and freeze it for later use too.
IHeartVegetables says
January 9, 2013 at 4:30 pmB-nut is my favorite type of squash! This soup sounds fantastic!
Parita says
January 10, 2013 at 10:27 pmIt was de-licious!!!
Masala Chica says
January 10, 2013 at 10:01 pmThat looks delicious! I am definitely putting it on the menu for next week. Thanks, parita 😉 Such a good food influence on me – you and Dixya both 🙂
Kiran
Parita says
January 10, 2013 at 10:26 pmAwesome! You and your blog are good life influences on me, so we’re even!!
Honey What's Cooking says
January 11, 2013 at 12:14 amLooks awesome P. I really like Butternut Squash soup, never made it though, in fact I hardly ever make soups, I need to get the Blendtec too. One of my favorites is Roasted Red pepper soup or creamy tomato.
loftyappetite says
January 11, 2013 at 4:13 pmI love this soup, and make it very similarly to you! I make this or broccoli soup the same way except I switch depending on if I have squash or broccoli on hand! And yes an immersian blender is perfect for these kinds of soups, you just put it in the pot after the squash softens and don’t have to dirty another dish. Same goes for smoothies, its prob my most used tool in the kitchen 😉