Butternut Squash and Roasted Garlic Bisque
My favorite part of any Thanksgiving meal is this squash bisque. Rich and creamy, though contains very little cream, this soup is flavorful and tastes decadent- like fall in a bowl. Make in advance, to cut the stress of Thanksgiving day, and enjoy.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 heads of garlic, halved crosswise
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- ¼ cup (1 stick) butter
- 3 cups chopped onions
- ¾ cup chopped carrots
- ½ cup chopped celery
- 4 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 6 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
- ½ cup whipping cream (or unsweetened coconut milk)
PREPARATION
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Rub cut surfaces of garlic with olive oil. Put halves back together to reassemble heads. Wrap each tightly in foil; bake in oven until tender, about 40 minutes. Cool garlic in foil.
- Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium heat.
- Add onions, carrots & celery; saute until onions are beginning to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Add squash, stock, cinnamon and 2 tablespoons sage.
- Bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered until squash is fork tender, about 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, unwrap garlic. Squeeze from skin into small bowl; discard skin. Mash garlic with fork.
- Stir garlic into soup. Remove cinnamon sticks & discard.
- Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth and return to pot. Or, if you have an emersion blender (which I strongly suggest!) simply puree directly in pot (removed from heat).
- Can be made up to 2 days ahead. Refrigerate uncovered until cool; cover and keep refrigerated.
- Bring bisque to simmer. Stir in cream or coconut milk. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Transfer to soup tureen.
- Garnish with drizzle of cream and fried sage leaf (not a raw leaf!) if desired.
