Butternut Squash Bisque

We got a huge butternut squash in our CSA box last week and although I usually don't like squash, a yummy butternut squash soup stuck with me since I first tasted it. So we decided to put the monster to good use and make a big pot o' soup.

We started with a recipe from allrecipes.com and tweaked a bit for our supplies.

Estimated Prep time:	20 minutes of chopping
Estimated total time:	about an hour
Serves:	9 (1.5 C servings)

For this recipe, you'll need:

• A big butternut Squash (8-9 cups of cubed fleshy bits)
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
  
• 2 Tbsp butter
  
• 1 medium onion, diced (1C)
  
• 3 large carrots, diced (1.5C)
  
• 6 C vegetable stock
  
• 2 tsp pepper (more or less to taste)
  
• 0.5 tsp Salt (more or less to taste)
  
• 1-3 tsp ground nutmeg (more or less to taste)
  
• 0.5 C heavy cream
  

(Time: 0:00) Peel and chop stuff: dice the onion and carrots (but keep them separate). Peel the squash, exposing the dark orange inner flesh. Halve the peeled squash and scoop out and discard the seeds and stringy matter inside. Chop into half-inch cubes.
(Time: 0:10) Heat the oil and butter in a large stock pot. Gently saute the diced onions until golden and tender. Add carrots and stir until mixed.
(Time: 0:20) Add squash cubes to the pot. Stir in the vegetable stock (we used 4 C stock and 2 C broth from bullion, and it tasted yummy).
(Time: 0:22) Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender (about 10-15 minutes).
(Time: 0:37) Stick an immersion blender into the pot and let 'er rip. Blend until smooth and creamy. If you don't have one of these magic sticks, a food processor or blender works well to blend the soup. (Time: 0:50) Add half a cup of cream and stir gently until fully incorporated, and enjoy immediately!