YUM! What a wonderful soup to prepare and enjoy with your homemade croutons and a little fried sage as a garnish. The cooler (cold) weather is coming and it is a nice way to start the season.
- 1 lb. cubed, peeled butternut squash
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed
- 1 generous sized sweet potato, peeled and cut in cubes
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 tbsp. good olive oil
- pinch of white pepper
- 1 tbsp. butter
- 1 McIntosh apple, peeled and chopped
- 1 900 ml vegetable broth (no salt)
- 1/3 cup whipping cream
- 2 tsp. lemon juice
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl toss together the squash, garlic, potato, onion, pinch of salt and pepper mixing well. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spread the mixture out and bake for 15 minutes, turn the vegetables over and bake a further 15-17 minutes until tender.
In a large pot, melt the butter over a low heat and cook the apple until soft, stirring gently for about 6-7 minutes. Stir in the vegetable mixture and pour in the broth bringing up to the boil. Reduce the temperature and simmer for about 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat, add the cream and lemon juice. Blend this until smooth. Now the fun part, strain back into the pot so you have a perfectly smooth soup. Don’t cheat or it won’t be the same.
Croutons
- 7 tsp. olive oil
- 2 slices white bread cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 2-3 tbsp. finely grated Asiago cheese
In a skillet, heat the oil and cook the bread for about 5 minutes, tossing until a golden brown. Remove from the heat and toss with the grated cheese. You are almost done.
Sage
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 6-7 sage leaves
In a small frypan cook the sage leaves until crisp (about 3 minutes). Remove from the pan and place the leaves on a paper towel to cool.
To serve, heat the soup up and ladle into pretty bowls, top with the croutons and a leaf or two.
Now you can proudly say “damn I did this”.
