Italiuan Sausage Butternut Squash Soup

By ctaubenheim

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
• 1 small yellow onio, finely
• chopped
• 1 small red bell pepper, diced
• 1 lb grd Italian Sausage (used
• Hot Italian Sausage in casing)
• Salt & Grd Pepper, to taste
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2.5 lb butternut squash,
• peeled, seeded & chopped
• into 1 inch cubes
• 6 c low sodium chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 (15.5oz) great northern
• beans, rinsed & drained
• 1 (14.5oz) fire roasted diced
• tomatoes, undrained
• salt & grd pepper to taste
• Heavy cream, for garnish. optl
• chopped fresh parsley, for
• garnis
• Bunch of Kale

Details

Level of difficulty Average
Cost Average budget

Preparation

Step 1

Mix 1/2 Tbsp butter in a dutch oven or stockpot set over medium heat. Add onions & peppers; cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the sausage and cook for 10 minutes or until browned & cooked thru, breaking up the sausage into crumbles as it cooks.

Step 2

Add garlic, season with salt & pepper, and cook for 1 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove he sausage mixture from the pot & set aside.

Step 3

Melt the remaining butter in the pot set over medium heat; add squash to the pot and cook for 2 minutes. The, stir in the chicken broth; add bay leaf, increase heat to high, & bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a steady simmer and continue to simmer, covered for 12 to 15 minutes or until the squash is tender. Start checking around the 10 minute mark. NOTE: The larger the chunks of buternut squash, the longer it will take for them to soften.

Step 4

Remove from heat. Discard the bay leaf. Remove a couple handfuls of butternut squash chunks from the soup and sset aside. Using an immersion blende, blend the soup until smooth. You can also blend the soup in a traditional blender and return the soup back to the stockpot.

Step 5

Return the butternut suash chunks black to the pot and set the pot over medium heat. To the soup, add the beans, tomatoes, and previously prepared sausage mixture; cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until heated thru. Taste for salt & pepper, and adjust. Drizzle with cream and garnish with parsley.

Step 6

NOTE: Tear kale into large pieces and add to top of pot to heat thru before serving.