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Butternut Squash Bisque

Source of Recipe

From "The Loving Kitchen" by LeeAnn Rice


Recipe Introduction

"Because this soup is pur�ed, you can eat it out of a bowl with a spoon or you can pour servings into mugs so you can curl up with a mugful and your favorite blankie. I vote for mug and blankie."

List of Ingredients

◦ 5 strips bacon, cut into thin slices
◦ 2 leeks, white part only, cut in half lengthwise and sliced
◦ 2 cloves garlic, minced
◦ 3 cups cubed butternut squash
◦ 1 cup peeled and cubed Yukon Gold or red potatoes
◦ 4 cups vegetable stock
◦ 1 cup pumpkin pur�e
◦ � cup heavy cream
◦ ⅓ cup dry sherry
◦ 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
◦ � teaspoon ground ginger
◦ Salt and black pepper to taste
◦ Dash cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
◦ Whole sage leaves for garnish, if desired


Recipe

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the bacon, stirring to separate the pieces as it cooks. When the bacon is crisp, remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel to drain, leaving the bacon grease in the pot.

Add the leeks to the bacon fat. Ohhh...something magical happens the moment the leeks hit the bacon grease. Can't you just smell the goodness? Saut� the leeks for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and continue to cook for 1 minute.

Add the squash and potatoes to the pan, stirring to coat with the pan drippings and leeks. Stir in the vegetable stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes or until the vegetables are fork-tender. Remove the pot from the heat. Let the soup cool for about 15 minutes. (You can also prepare up to this point the day before you want to serve. Simply cover and refrigerate.)

Pur�e the vegetables until smooth using an immersion or standard blender. (If using a standard blender and the soup is hot, pur�e in batches, not filling the blender more than halfway full to avoid messy explosions.)

Bring the soup to a simmer over low to medium-low heat and add the pumpkin, cream, and sherry. Simmer for 5 minutes and then stir in the sage and ginger. Taste before adding salt, pepper, and cayenne. Serve with the reserved bacon bits and garnish with sage leaves.

Makes 6 servings




❦ Healthy Variations:
Skip the bacon. Saut� the leeks in a little olive oil (just enough to coat the bottom of your pot) before proceeding with the rest of the recipe. You can also replace the heavy cream with evaporated milk.