It’s been a few years since I’ve made a butternut squash soup and I had been thinking of it frequently this year. When a friend sent over a recipe for butternut squash soup with maple croutons from Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta Executive Chef, Robert Gerstenecker, I knew I had to try it. Plus, it sounded wonderful.
The recipe called for 6 cups of cubed butternut squash, but I had no idea what that translated to when buying a whole squash at the grocery store. I bought a huge one and ended up with 12 cups…so I froze half. I’m sure I can find something else to make with butternut squash!
The ingredients (squash, onion, chicken stock, milk, nutmeg) were ready to be blended in about 30 minutes. (I accidentally omitted the garlic that the recipe called for, but I honestly didn’t miss it!)
And although I was skeptical about the immersion blender at first, I am happy to report I’m now a true believer! The soup was perfectly smooth and silky, and I just added a touch of salt and pepper to finish it up.
I figured the croutons would be the easiest part – butter, maple syrup and pieces of bread.
But, I had a few issues. The first was that when I added the bread to the melted butter/syrup, there was too much liquid for the bread and it became very soggy.
I cooked them for the stated time, but they were nowhere near done. I cooked them another 10 minutes, and while better they were still not done. I turned on the broiler and put them under it for 3 minutes. STILL not completely done. Back under the broiler for 3 more minutes and….coompletely burned and smoking with 2 minutes left. Oye. I was VERY bummed as they’d had an amazing flavor when I sampled one, but I do know that the broiler can be a mean, mean tool sometimes.
I’m not sure if I wasn’t using the right bread or what but I’ve adjusted the recipe below to reflect better proportions. I was using regular bagged bread – not bakery fresh and that may have been why there was so much excess liquid.
- 6 cups butternut squash (cubed and peeled)
- 1 med onion (diced)
- 6 cups chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup whole milk
- Salt and Pepper
- 3 slices Bread, crust removed and diced
- 2 tblsp Maple syrup
- 2 tblsp butter
- In a 2 quart sauce pan, place cubed squash, onions, chicken broth, 1 cup milk, and a pinch of nutmeg.
- Bring all ingredients to a simmer and simmer 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Use and immersion blender or place in a blender and mix until smooth.
- Pour soup back in pot and season with salt and pepper.
- Melt butter and Maple syrup together in a pot, toss in bread dice, and toast in oven until crispy, about 10 minutes at 300 deg.
- Fill bowls with hot soup and top with Croutons. Enjoy!