Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut? More like you butternot sleep on this creamy bowl of deep, multifaceted comfort!

I really need to start taking better photos. This deserves better.

My friend Amanda texted me earlier today as I was on my couch reading this recipe. Her message?

I can confirm it is a freaking experience.

WHOA. Sent at the very moment I was staring down butternut squash soup ingredients? That's the kind of sign from the universe we all need every now and then to confirm our busy lives are zooming down exactly the right road. Of course, when all roads lead to soup, you're always on the right road. 

That said, when I recovered from my text-message-prompted existential awakening and got into the kitchen, I wasn't wildly pumped to be making a butternut squash soup. I mean, is there a single restaurant left in America without a butternut squash soup on its menu? 

I assume this dance is proof it's on the McDonald's menu.

And, follow-up: With butternut squash soup as ubiquitous as kale salad* at this point, what could convince me to make one myself? Particularly given the fact that we were having guests over, who more than likely would have an internal gastronomical Rolodex of the kerblillion (exact number) other versions they've encountered?

Chrissy Teigen, that's what. I'm way late boarding the Teigen train, but to be honest I never particularly considered buying a ticket before. She seemed fine and all, and I'd heard good things, but I hadn't paid enough attention to know I was genuinely missing out. Within a few pages of reading her book I realized I done messed up. She has a vivacious, fun, cheeky voice that belies her stupid-dumb-hotness, and within a paragraph I was convinced that she not only could be living one of the most lifey lives of all time but she also just knows what tastes good. Game: Teigen.

No penalty for excessive celebration.

And like that perfect ponytail, this recipe is a simple thing done well. With a handful of ingredients, it does what I love in a one-veg soup: It makes the butternut squash even squashier with little more than fire and good intentions. Sure, it takes a bit of extra care to prep the squash in batches, and extra patience to not stir it as it develops its caramelized crust, but that extra care delivers a delicate depth of flavor. It takes a watchful eye to fry sage leaves just enough to be crispy-crackly but not burnt. But if you do it, you get the bonus byproduct of an earthy green olive oil to take to the table, an apt accompaniment for hearty bread. This soup may not be wildly imaginative or new, but the method treats each ingredient as precious - more than anything, that's what comes through in the taste.

So pretty they almost sparkle!

To sum up: I could roll around in this soup like Chrissy Teigen on a swimsuit shoot.

But soup instead of, uh, pennies? What's happening?

Who knows, rolling in it might even do good things for your skin! Another selling point for me is that this soup is easily adapted to your alimentary needs. I tasted it before adding cream and it was a delectable vegan soup, and it tastes great as a lacto-veg soup, which it will remain if you don't add the crispy prosciutto on top for your omnivore guests. Three in one!

Side note: Always taste as you go, even if your dishwasher decides to conveniently quit working this week and that means hand-washing more spoons. Just me?

Still vegan at this point.

If I revisit this one in the future, I'll likely add some heat to it because that's my typical taste, and forgo the cream because vanity duh.

By the time we sat down to dinner, I was so bought in on Chrissy Teigen that we decided John Legend would be the soundtrack to our meal. And, as delusional as this sounds, her writing has me so convinced of her personality that I think she'd actually be stoked to have one more person in her camp. And what a charming camp it is.

Omg, Chrissy, you're just too humble!

*Yes, we served the soup with kale salad. 

Butternut Squash Soup 

From Cravings by Chrissy Teigen

Serves at least 6

Ingredients

3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and seeded, chopped into 1-inch cubes

5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (plus more if you want to make the fried sage)

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 cups vegetable broth

3 or 4 sprigs of fresh sage

1 yellow onion, diced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

3/4 cup heavy cream

Method

Place cubed squash in a large bowl and toss with salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in your soup pot over medium-high, then add half the seasoned squash and spread it out in one layer so each piece has a chance to caramelize. Cook for 7 minutes without disturbing, then give it a good stir and cook 5 more minutes. Transfer first batch to a bowl and repeat with second half of squash.

While the second batch is browning, finely chop four sage leaves. When second batch of squash is done, add sage, onion and garlic to the pot, stirring to scrape up the crispy browned pieces stuck to the bottom. Cook until onions are starting to brown, stirring occasionally. 

Add broth and first batch of squash to the pot, making sure to scrape the bottom again, then increase heat to bring it up to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and let it cook at not-too-gentle simmer until the squash is totally starting to have a breakdown - about 25 minutes. 

In a small skillet over medium-high, heat about 1/4 cup of olive oil. Add a few large sage leaves at a time - they'll sizzle and bubble immediately. As soon as they stop bubbling, remove them from the oil. For me, this was less than 10 seconds. Let them drain on paper towels. Chrissy recommends two sage leaves per bowl, but I kept adding sage to mine - I say make as many as you'd like.

Once the squash has begun its fundamental corporeal crisis, blend it until smooth. I used my trusty immersion blender, but you can also work in batches and use a standard blender. 

Chrissy tops hers with more cream, plus the fried sage and crispy prosciutto (see below), but I decided to make one healthy decision yesterday and not add more cream to my version. 

JK I totally meant to and forgot. Let me know if it makes a taste difference - it almost certainly would have been prettier with that swirl o' white.

Optional Omnivore Topping

A few strips of prosciutto, crisped on a parchment-lined baking sheet at 400 degrees for 11 minutes.

P.s. Typing "squash" that much kept making me think "Sasquatch," which of course led to "Sasquash," which obviously I had to google and double-obvs the internet provided me with a lot to think about. First to ponder: whether to buy this shirt:

Credit here