Gearhead Mom

Friday, December 04, 2009

Need A Recipe For Tonight? How About Creamy Sweet Potato & Butternut Squash Soup

Posted by Jenny M. @ 8:50 AM

Downside to staying up all night with a kiddo with the stomach flu?  Umm, that’s fairly obvious.  Upside?  A day off work trapped at home with a kiddo who needed TLC, and time to clean the fridge of veggies in need of a job.  I had some sweet potatoes and a butternut squash I didn’t use for Thanksgiving, and some turnips and a parsnip from our organic veggie delivery.  I put them to work, and they collaborated on the soup below, perfect for tender tummies:

Ingredients:
2 tbs butter
2 cloves garlic, chopped
half an onion, chopped
2 or 3 celery stalks, chopped
2 large sweet potatoes, chopped into 1 in. cubes
I butternut squash, cooked and chopped into 1 in cubes (I halved and cooked the squash in the microwave for about 6 minutes)
optional:  I had a parsnip and about 5 small turnips which I chopped and included. 
2 cinnamon sticks
2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 tsp ground pepper (or to taste)
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tbs maple syrup
optional:  I love the spice mix called garam masala, which approximates spicy chai seasonings.  I put about one T of that in, and a dash of cayenne pepper
1 box/carton chicken stock/broth
1 pint cream (+ milk to desired consistency)

Melt butter and add all solid ingredients and spices (except cooked squash), saute till onions are translucent. 
Add chicken broth and simmer until potatoes are soft—20 minutes or so. 
Remove cinnamon sticks
Add cream
I used a hand blender to puree the soup to smooth consistency, and then added additional milk and spices till taste and texture were to my liking. 
Simmer till serving or rewarm.  Serve with toasted pine nuts, hazelnuts (pictured) or buttered sage leaves on top.

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