Butternut Squash Bisque

I’ve been really enjoying a pescetarian diet and I’m finding myself leaning more away from chicken, beef and pork. This week I am planning more pescetarian friendly meals and another reason is that I’ve been successful losing weight while on this diet. Perhaps its the focus of more color in my meals brought on by the various combinations of fruits and vegetables that’s been working really well for me. Whatever it is, I’m going to stick with it!

The weather has gotten a little cooler here in Chicago so it was a good time to make some soup. In doing a search on my Google Reader, I looked through some recipes for butternut squash. I came across Kim’s blog where she used the following recipe. It looked simple enough and turned out wonderfully! I made a few adaptations to the original recipe by adding a bit more flavor through the addition of thyme, garlic salt and onion powder. This paired perfectly with baguette slices with goat cheese & pesto and the roasted vegetable panini I made!

Butternut Squash Bisque
recipe adapted from AllRecipes

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup diced onion
3/4 cup diced carrots
4 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
3 cups vegetable stock
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
ground nutmeg to taste
1/4 cup heavy cream

Heat the oil and melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Cook and stir the onion in the butter and oil under tender.

Mix the carrots and squash into the pot. Pour in vegetable stock, and season with all the seasonings/spices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until vegetables are tender.

In a blender or food processor, puree the soup mixture until smooth. Return to the pot, and stir in the heavy cream. Heat through, but do not boil. Serve warm with a dash of nutmeg.

I’m also submitting this recipe to Neha’s SWC: Soups blogging event! Be sure to check out her blog for the delicious soup round up at the end of the month!