Butternut Squash Soup

For a long time after coming to US I haven't bought butternut squash or never thought of buying one until recently a visit to a friend's house changed my mind. We were served butternut squash soup as appetizer. That was the first time I was having a dish made with squash and it tasted so delicious that I vowed to make it after that but never happened until few weeks later! Before that during weekend trips to grocery stores I turned a blind eye to squash, despite knowing its nutritional facts, simply because it looked so huge and I didn't know(or didn't want to know!) how to cut it! The very thought of cutting and making a squash soup made me feel lazy until during our grocery store trip one and half weeks ago when my husband suddenly said,"Hey, lets buy squash this time and make soup". Still after buying, it sat in the refrigerator until yesterday when it suddenly occurred to me that its been more than a week since we bought it. Since it was my first attempt with squash I was a bit confused as how to cut it and hence turned to google search and came upon this video: How to peel and cut a butternut squash. That helped me out!

The soup is very easy to prepare and requires minimum effort. The squash is rich in minerals and vitamins and it contains beta-carotene that is essential for healthy eyes and skin. The addition of spices makes the soup very flavourful.

Ingredients:

One butternut squash cut into small pieces

1/2 white onion chopped

2 ripe tomatoes chopped

2 celery stalks chopped

3 cups chicken broth/vegetable broth

Italian seasoning- 2 tsp + more for garnish

Ground pepper- 1/2 tsp(or less depending on your level of spiciness)

Freshly ground pepper

Few basil leaves chopped

Salt to taste

2 chicken cubes

2 tbsp butter

3/4 cup milk

Water for cooking(if needed)

Method:

• In a large sauce pan add chopped squash, onions, tomatoes, basil and celery.
  
• Add broth, ground pepper, Italian seasoning and salt. Mix well. You may need to add additional water for cooking. Heat and bring to a boil.
  
• Reduce heat to low-medium and cook with a closed lid till the squash pieces are cooked well and can be mashed with the back of a spoon. This may take about 25-20 minutes.
  
• Remove from heat, cool and blend the mixture well. Keep aside.
  
• Heat the same pan used for cooking and melt butter. Add blended mixture along with chicken cubes and milk. You may add more or less milk depending on the amount of thickness you need.
  
• Bring to a boil, add freshly ground pepper, adjust salt and cook at low-medium heat until the soup has reached the right consistency. Remove from heat.
• Garnish with Italian seasoning.
• Serve hot with croutons.

Pooja.

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