Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon, Goat Cheese, and Pistachios
Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut squash peeled, seeds scooped out, and diced
- 2 large carrots peeled and diced
- 1 onion diced
- 1 apple peeled, cored, and cubed
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- 1/4 tsp dried sage
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 32 oz vegetable broth
- 1 c heavy cream
- 1 package of bacon
- 4 oz package of goat cheese
- Shelled pistachios
Instructions
- Place bacon in a cold pan, heat to medium and cook till crispy. Set on paper towels to cool. Reserve bacon grease. Once bacon is cool, crumble into small pieces.
- Add 3 Tbs bacon grease to a large stockpot and heat over medium. Add carrots, onion, and diced butternut squash and sauté for 5-7 minutes, or until veggies start to soften.
- Add apple, thyme, sage, salt, and pepper, and sauté 3-4 more minutes. (Add another Tbs of bacon grease if necessary.)
- Add garlic and sauté one more minute, then add vegetable broth, scraping the delicious bits off the bottom of the pan. Add bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 6-8 minutes, or until the veggies and apples are soft. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
- Remove bay leaf and use an immersion blender to blend the soup to a smooth consistency. Alternately, you can carefully blend the soup in batches in a blender. (Side note - if you don't have an immersion blender, it's a worthwhile investment - perfect for soups, smoothies, salsas, and other things - we use ours all the time!) Once the soup is smooth, stir in the heavy cream.
- Serve topped with bacon, goat cheese, and pistachios. Drizzle with a little extra heavy cream to make it pretty. Enjoy!
Notes
To more easily peel your butternut squash, use a fork to poke holes all over. Heat for 1-2 minutes in the microwave. Let cool, cut each end off with a knife, then use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin. To dice, cut your butternut squash in half, separating the taller skinny half from the wide fat end. Place each half of the squash on your cutting board, cut side down, and cut each one in half. Scoop the seeds out and then lay each quarter on your cutting board, flat side down and slice into 1/4 in - 1/2 in slices. Dice up each slice into smaller pieces and you're ready to use it in your soup recipe!