Winter Squash Soup

Date Completed: 10/24/2021

Seeing the piles of squash at the grocery store this fall inspired us to try cooking with them.

Ina Garten gave us the perfect opportunity with her Winter Squash Soup (Soupe au Potiron) recipe in the Soup and Salad chapter from Barefoot in Paris.

I’ve always been wary of chopping a whole squash because they’re so firm. To work around this fear, we bought two smaller butternut squashes instead of one large. Perfect compromise!

This soup starts with sautéed yellow onions. You then add pumpkin puree, the squash, chicken stock and seasoning. As usual, Ina instructs you to use homemade chicken stock. I ignored her because I don’t have the patience to make that happen.

That all simmers covered for about 20 minutes until the squash is soft enough to break down with an immersion blender. I get a lot of enjoyment out of using the immersion blender - it’s such a fun kitchen tool!

Once the mixture has been processed until smooth, you add a cup of half and half. As it finishes warming you also taste to adjust the salt and pepper. How easy is that?

I forgot to pick up the recommended garnishes (crème fraîche, Gruyère, etc.), but we did serve this with some homemade bread. I’ll tell you more about that in my next post!

Taste Report:

I enjoyed this soup! It pairs perfectly with a cozy night at home. I liked the balance between the sweeter squash flavor and the savory onions with the chicken broth.

It also froze beautifully and made a yummy lunch the following week!

Mess Report:

I forgot to get a mess picture! We didn’t have much more to clean up than the cutting board, dutch oven, and immersion blender. I assumed the recipe would be more labor intensive, but was pleased to be wrong about that!

Next let’s talk about that bread I served on the side!