Today for lunch I’m heating up some leftover butternut squash soup. I love this soup for several reasons: it’s a great way to use butternut squash and it always makes me feel autumnal; it’s visually appealing; and it tastes good. If that’s not enough for you,  it’s absurdly easy to make. In fact, it’s easy and quick enough for a weeknight.

Butternut Squash Soup

• Approx. 2 lbs. butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks
• 1 32-oz. carton Swanson Natural Goodness chicken broth (or an equivalent amount of homemade stock, or vegetable stock if you’re a vegetarian)
• 1 large onion, chopped roughly
• 2 tbs. butter
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Cream (optional)

Melt the butter over medium heat in a stockpot or very large sauce pan. When it bubbles, toss in the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until they’ve softened and are just beginning to turn golden. Add in the squash, pour in the stock, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a medium-low (you want it at a lively simmer), cover, and cook until the squash is very soft, approximately 20-30 minutes.

Once the squash has cooked, you’ll want to either puree this in batches in your blender, or use an immersion blender to blend it in the pot.

Add just a little bit of cream if desired, and season to taste with salt and pepper. If the soup is too thick for your liking, you can thin it to the desired consistency with more stock or a bit of water. Taste for seasoning again.

Notes: If you really don’t have the time to peel and cut the squash (it’s really not all that hard, in spite of the squash’s appearance), you can use two bags of frozen butternut squash (I’ve done this in a pinch), in which case you’ll want to cut down a tad on the stock (just use enough to barely cover the squash in the pot), or you can find pre-peeled butternut squash at the supermarket (these can be kind of dry, so buyer beware).

You can vary the seasoning however your imagination allows. This is very nice with a bit of thyme in it (fresh or dried), and I also like mine seasoned with a bit of curry powder. Alternatively, you can sweeten it a bit and add just a little bit of brown sugar, and a pinch of cinammon and/or nutmeg. I would probably season it that way if I were serving very small portions as an appetizer, but not if I were using the soup as the main part of my dinner.

Obviously, it’s soup, which means there are very few rules. Let your imagination and your taste be your guide.