Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter (or olive oil if you prefer to make it vegan)
- 1 medium-sized yellow onion, diced
- 1 shallot, diced
- 1 rib of celery, diced
- 1 carrot, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 thumb-sized chunk of fresh ginger, grated or sliced
- salt and pepper
- a few sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
- 1 small sweet potato, peeled and cubed
- 1 tart green apple, diced
- 6-8 cups chicken stock (or veggie stock if you prefer to make it vegetarian/vegan)
- 3/4 cup heavy cream (or coconut milk if you prefer to make it vegan)
Directions
- In a large dutch oven on medium-high heat, add butter (or olive oil), onions, shallots, celery, and carrots. Saute for a few minutes until they soften.
- Add garlic, ginger, salt, pepper, thyme, and bay leaf. Stir and saute for another two minutes.
- Add the butternut squash, sweet potato, and apple. Stir and saute for a few minutes.
- Add the stock, stir, bring to a boil, then simmer for 30-40 minutes until all ingredients are soft. Remove bay leaf and thyme
- Working in batches as needed, add the soup to a blender and blend until smooth. You can use an immersion blender if desired, but my preference is to use a Vitamix for the perfectly creamy texture.
- Return soup to pan, add cream, add salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve hot with whatever garnish or sides you might like (e.g. scallions, fresh parsley or cilantro, hot sauce, crumbled bacon, feta or blue cheese, crusty bread, etc).