I don’t want to toot my own horn, but this is probably one of the best things I’ve ever created in the kitchen – no exaggeration.
The season has me making all cozy things and I’ve been craving a Butternut Squash Soup. The problem is that so many are filled with cream and feel heavy. Not this one!!! This soup is super light, but tastes decadent! The complexity of flavors from the mushrooms and amaretto will make this unlike any butternut squash soup you’ve had before. If you want to take a basic soup up a lot of notches, then try this ASAP!
Ingredients for Mushrooms:
- Mushrooms
- 1 Shallot
- 1 Clove Garlic
- 3 Sprigs Fresh Thyme (or 2 tsp of dried thyme)
- 1 Tbsp Sherry
- 3 Tbsp Marsala Wine
- Olive Oil
Directions for Mushrooms:
Heat some olive oil in a pan on Medium/Low and add the mushrooms. Once the mushrooms cook down a bit, add the shallot and garlic. Once the garlic is fragrant, add the Sherry, Marsala and fresh thyme. I personally at this point turn my heat low (2-3), and let the flavors hang out for a bit. Once they are done, I’ll season with a small pinch of salt.
Ingredients For Soup:
- 1 Butternut Squash
- 1 White or Spanish Onion
- 3 Cloves Garlic
- 3 Sprigs Fresh Thyme (or 2 tsp of dried thyme)
- 1/4 cup Amaretto (I used Disaronno).
- Note ** If you’ve never had this stuff, wait until you smell it – it’s heavenly! Amaretto and Disaronno are actually different. Amaretto is made with almonds, and Disaronno is made to mimic the almond flavor, but uses herbs and spices instead. Disaronno is to Amaretto as Guinness is the beer – make sense? It’s all delicious if you ask me.
- 1 can of light coconut milk
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- Salt/Pepper
Directions For Soup:
Roast your Butternut Squash in the oven. Depending on whether you roast it whole or in cubes – your prep and cook times will be different. I roasted mine whole, because I candidly hate peeling/prepping it. I preheated my oven to 375, cut it in half, seasoned with Olive Oil and salt and roasted it flesh up for about an hour. You want it to be fork tender so you can remove the squash from the peel, so you may have to check it a couple of times depending on the thickness/size of it. Once it was tender, I removed it, let it cool and then use an ice cream scooper to get the squash out.
In my cast iron pan, I heated up some olive oil and then added the onion (season with salt). I let the onion cook down until almost translucent and then I added the garlic. After 30 seconds or so, I added the amaretto and let the alcohol cook out. Add the vegetable stock, coconut milk and stir. Once the butternut squash was cooked/peeled, I added that to the pan. I let this all simmer together for about 10 minutes and then used my immersion blender to puree it easily!
To Garnish:
This is where you can have fun and do your own thing! I personally toasted up some Naan bread under the broiler to use along with the mushrooms and fresh thyme! Sour cream, sage leaves and cinnamon toasted croutons all pair wonderfully as well!
Another idea would be adding various other squashes or root vegetables too if you wanted! Don’t hesitate to color outside the lines and make cooking fun!
Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram if you make this – I’d love to share!
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