Butternut Squash Soup - Tonua Carano

Years ago, I was introduced to one of the most amazing soups I've ever eaten. It was a Butternut Squash Soup at the Prickly Pear Southwest Cafe in downtown Ann Arbor, Michigan. The food there is amazing, and the Butternut Squash Soup is beyond spectacular. It was so good, that I was unable to hold a conversation while eating it. (If you know me, you know that's quite a big deal.) All of my attention was focused on that soup so that I could savor every bite.

Ever since that first bite, I have been wanting to figure out how to make that soup. Honestly, I don't know if this soup tastes anything like Prickly Pear's soup because it's been quite a while since I've been to the Prickly Pear, and I no longer live in Ann Arbor, so I have no way to compare. But I do know that this soup tastes like heaven in a bowl (which is how I've always described Prickly Pear's version), so, as far as I'm concerned, mission accomplished!

I looked at a lot of recipes to borrow and tweak everything to my liking in order to come up with this one. I think I might still have some tweaking to go to perfect it, and I'll include some of that in the notes below. But I love this soup, as is, and I hope you do too!

Prep Time: 30-45 minutes
Cooking Time: 4 hours
Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 4 oz. butter
• 2 lb. butternut squash, peeled and diced, seeds removed
• 1¼ lb. russet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 3 large carrots, peeled and diced
• ½ cup white onion, peeled and diced (small)
• 2 qts. vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• ½ tsp. cinnamon (to taste)
• ½ to 1 tsp. cumin (to taste)
• Pinch of salt (to taste)

Directions

Melt butter in large pot or Dutch oven over low heat.

Add squash, potatoes, carrots and onions, and cook on low heat, covered, stirring occasionally. Vegetables should be translucent, not browned. This should take approximately 45 minutes to an hour. The goal is to bring out the natural sugars of the vegetables, not to saute them.

Add vegetable stock. Bring just to boil, lower heat to low/simmer, and stir. Cook for two hours, until all vegetables are soft, stirring occasionally. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup. It may be a little easier to mash the vegetables in the pot using a potato masher first. If you do not have an immersion blender, pour your soup into a blender or food processor to puree the soup. Pour the soup back into the pot, with the heat on low, once pureed.

Stir lemon juice and then the cream into the soup. Stir in cinnamon, cumin and salt. These are the quantities that I plan to tweak next time. I used a teaspoon of cumin and will start with ½ teaspoon next time. I used a big pinch of salt, maybe ½ teaspoon, and I would start with less or possibly leave it out next time. I added the cinnamon last, about ½ teaspoon. The next time, I will add the cinnamon first and adjust the other seasonings around that. I feel that my soup had just a touch too much of cumin. It should add a savoriness without actually leaving you with a taste of cumin. My recommendation is to start with small amounts, adding each separately, until you find the flavor combination that works for you.

Excellent with a dollop of butter in the center of the soup. (Prickly Pear uses walnut butter, which is delicious.) Also, you might want to consider saving and roasting the seeds from the butternut squash and serving them on top of the soup as well.

Nutritional Info

Serving Size: Approximately 1½ cups

Calories	236	12%DV
Calories from Fat	133
Total Fat	15.1g	23%DV
Saturated Fat	9.4g	47%DV
Trans Fat	0g
Cholesterol	47.2mg	16%DV
Sodium	502mg	21%DV
Total Carbohydrate	24.6g	8%DV
Dietary Fiber	3g	12%DV
Sugars	4.6g
Protein	2.8g	6%DV