As the weather gets chillier, days become shorter, and leaves fall off the trees, my inclination is to curl up with a warm blanket and tune in to Netflix for a marathon of The Office, with a piping cup of hot chocolate. Unfortunately, school sometimes gets in the way of that. However, a close second is coming home to a comforting bowl of soup! One of my favorite soups, especially this Fall, is butternut squash. Technically a fruit (because it has seeds), butternut squash has made itself known this season as a super-food, with a substantial amount of health benefits.

Butternut Squash is heart healthy, full of potassium (for bone health), and full of vitamin B6, which strengthens the nervous and immune systems. Besides being filled with tons of antioxidants and minerals, squash is low in fat and calories, but dense, so you quickly get full from it. Butternut squash can be used in a ton of different ways, as a salad fix in, an earthy element in your soup, or even just a plain, healthy snack. As another added bonus, if you’re getting bored with the over used pumpkin flavor, butternut squash is a great replacement!

I usually make butternut squash soup every year, and am always looking for a new recipe to try.   I came across this recipe, from Whole Foods (if you ever need a quick recipe, their website if full of them), that had an ingredient I had never included before: thyme. Thyme is growing increasingly popular as a dominant flavor in a lot of dishes, mostly soups and salads seen from the recipes I’ve come across so far, and it really made the soup so much more flavorful. Just make sure you use fresh thyme because the flavor is more intense, and there are some small health benefits from its freshness. It is packed with potassium, magnesium, and iron, in addition to having a high fiber content, which is great for your heart!

This recipe took hardly any work, and I was finished within an hour and a half. It depends on how you like your soup (thick or thin), but if you want a really smooth consistency, I suggest using an immersion blender first to purée most of the squash, but then moving it to a standing or upright blender until you get the consistency you prefer. Fresh butternut squash tastes best, but frozen is fine too. It has the same, or even more antioxidants as fresh squash. I hope that this soup warms you up when the nights get cold, and that you have fun making it. Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cups of cubed butternut squash
• 1/2 teaspoon of chopped fresh thyme
• 4 cups of chicken broth (can be replaced with vegetable broth)
• 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Once hot, add the carrot, celery, and onion, cooking until the vegetables have softened and the onions turn translucent (about 3-4 minutes).
2. Add the butternut squash, thyme, chicken stock, and salt and pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat, and simmer until the squash is tender to the touch, about 30 minutes.
3. Using an immersion blender, purée the soup, and once cooled, purée in an upright blender until you reach your preferred consistency.

Yield: 6 servings