comfort food

I had a hankering for squash yesterday.  Sunday always seems like a good day to simmer a pot of soup on the stove all afternoon, so I decided to combine the two desires.  Many squash soups call for cooking or baking the squash, then pureeing it, but I really wanted big juicy chunks of squash in this batch.  A simple base with generous cuts of carrots, squash and corn fit the bill.  Lots of sage, a classic pairing with butternut squash, added at various stages during the simmering, gave it great depth.  Big steaming bowls of this soup, a plate of crusty bread and a glass of red wine were all we needed for a simple Sunday supper.

Butternut Squash Soup

2 T olive oil
1/3 c onion, chopped
1 c carrots, chopped
1 1/2 c butternut squash, peeled and diced
16 oz vegetable broth
1/2 t dried rubbed sage
1/2 t fresh ground pepper
1/2 t coarse salt
2 bay leaves
3/4 c frozen corn
1 t fresh, chopped sage

-saute onion in olive oil until translucent
-add carrots and squash, saute for additional 5 minutes
-add 12 oz broth, dried sage, pepper, salt and bay leaves
-bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are just tender
-add remaining broth, corn and fresh sage
-simmer additional 30 minutes
-serve with crispy sage leaves

*for crispy sage leaves:  heat a small amount of olive oil or butter in small saute pan. lay sage leaves in pan and fry on each side until crispy.