Welcome to Soup Season!

I am obsessed with soups. I make them year-round, even on hot days. To me, nothing is more comforting or soul-soothing than a warm bowl of delicious soup. Soup is also great because you can invent one of your own by throwing in whatever you have on hand. On this sunny October day I was prompted to make a soup out of some Buttercup Squash I got at one of the local farms. I have never bought this type of squash before, but they are really quite cute. I wanted to make the soup sweet but savory, so I decided to saute leeks, bacon, garlic and white wine, but also toss in a dash of nutmeg and vanilla. The vanilla seemed weird but I wanted to try it anyway. Yum!

Recipe:

3-4 Buttercup Squash (cut in half and seeded)

1 box chicken or vegetable broth

2 strips center-cut bacon, diced

1 leek, trimmed, washed and chopped

splash of chardonnay (eyeball it)

splash of half-n-half

sprinkle of thyme

sprinkle of red pepper flakes

small splash of good vanilla extract

pinch of nutmeg

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the squash in halves and scoop out seeds. Drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt. Roast for about an hour, or until the squash is tender when poked with a fork. Scoop flesh from the squash and set aside.

2) In the meantime, chop and wash leek (I soak the chopped pieces in a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes) and chop bacon. Saute leek and bacon with olive oil in a large pot over low heat. Stir often.

3) When bacon and leeks are cooked (not too brown), add 2-3 cloves chopped garlic and saute for one minute. Splash white wine and scrape up any brown bits from pan. Add squash, broth, vanilla and nutmeg and bring to a boil.

4) Turn heat to low and let simmer for 10-15 minutes with lid halfway on. Add half-n-half and salt and pepper to taste. Use a hand blender to puree the soup (if you don't have one you will have to transfer to a blender or food processor).

Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and Bon Appetit!