“I find that vegetables like butternut squash, which I feel excited about as a side dish, I’m thrilled to eat in a soup.”
Cynthia Nixon

So it is that time of year that the fall veggies come out to play for dinner and this season, we have tried a few new butternut squash dishes including tonight’s “Pasta & Butternut Squash Soup” inspired by one of our guest chefs, Nigella Lawson.

Most of the day, I think we will have great cooler temperatures and slow rain showers from time to time, dreary if you can relate, but a cozy day for a nice bowl of fall soup and later (hopefully) a sit-by-the-firepit moment.

Nigella’s recipe dropped into my mailbox this morning and I pulled two small butternut squashes from the veggie basket earlier as a reminder to cook one way or another as well as a bag of a wonderful tube pasta that I bought on the Rancho Gordo site…a great pasta that I have adopted for my pasta fagiole recipes among other smallish pasta type dishes.

Link to: https://www.nigella.com/recipes/butternut-and-pasta-soup

This pasta just might yield enough soup for three instead of two, but feel free to use the recommended Ditalini-type pasta…on another note I added a pinch or so of sage and little but of parmesan cheese rind to the simmering squash. Do remove the rind before whizzing up some of the oup.

Serves: 2

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• ½ onion (or 1 small onion, peeled and chopped finely)
• 2 cups butternut squash (peeled and cut into 1cm/½ inch cubes)
• ¼ cup white wine (or dry vermouth)
• 2½ cups vegetable broth
• 1 bay leaf
• ⅓ cup ditalini (or other soup pasta)
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese to serve (see Additional Information below)
• Feel free to use the “swap” feature and adjust brands and quantities as needed.

METHOD

1. Heat the oil in a large heavy-based saucepan, and cook the onion for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly until it is soft.
2. Add the cubes of butternut and turn in the pan for a couple of minutes. Pour in the wine and let it bubble up, then add the stock and bay leaf.
3. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat slightly and simmer for about 10 minutes, checking that the butternut is tender and cooked through.
4. Take out a ladleful and blend or puree it, then put it back in the pan. Then turn up the heat and add the ditalini or soup pasta, cooking according to packet instructions. This is usually about 10 minutes.
5. Ladle into your soup bowl and sprinkle over Parmesan cheese as you wish.