Butternut Squash Bisque

I love cooking - but I especially love cooking in the Fall.

And as they days grow more crisp, a good pot of soup brings comfort and warmth, not to mention a house filled with it's savory aroma as it simmers and the flavors develop.

There are so many kinds of soup, but one that we enjoy throughout Autumn is a Butternut Squash Bisque. It really doesn't get any more Fall than that.

It's also brilliantly simple to make, and can be made quite quickly if you're in a pinch, or reheated for a simple dinner later in the week.

I don't really have a recipe, but it usually goes as follows:

- Dice a small onion and sweat in a medium pot with a little butter and oil.

- While the onion sweats, peel and remove seeds from one large Butternut squash. Cut into 1" cubes, add to onions once transparent and cover with chicken stock in a pot. This is usually about 1 container of broth.

- Cook squash until tender.

- In small batches, puree the soup in a blender, keeping the pureed soup in a large bowl until everything is smooth. Return soup back to pot and continue heating.

- Season with salt and pepper. Add a few tablespoons of pure maple syrup, a pinch of cayenne pepper and some fresh thyme leaves removed from the stem. Let that simmer gently for a while.

- When ready to serve, add about 1/2 cup of whipping cream.

- Garnish with small dollop of creme frais, or plain Greek yogurt, a drizzle of maple syrup and some fresh thyme. 

I like to serve this soup with some great bread and cheese, or a warm scone. The other day we had it with some Apple Walnut Sourdough from the shop, sliced Honeycrisp Apples, Walnuts and Aged Cheddar. I also love it with an Apple Rosemary Pecan Scone with sliced ham, cheddar cheese and spicy Dijon mustard.

I've even done this soup with a couple of apples or pears tossed in, and occasionally, some white wine if I have it open.

So delicious!