Butternut Squash Soup

This is a BIG batch of soup - like double the amount of my standard recipes. I would say it serves 8-10 people. I made it for a lot of friends and wanted extra on hand for my family throughout the week! If you want to cut it in half, to make a smaller batch for like 3-4 people, feel free!

I originally set out to create a butternut squash lasagna soup but I didn't really love it with lasagna noodles! That's why there's ricotta cheese involved here. I swapped out the lasagna noodles for tortellini and loved it way more!! I also added a ton of spinach leaves after I was done filming and that was a great addition too.

ONE MORE THING. The texture of the soup is very customizable and will vary depending on the size of the squash. I ate it as is, which was more on the thick side as far as soups go. I ended up adding broth to the rest of it that I shared with family members, it was more soupy and less saucy that way, if that makes sense. Since I was storing it in the fridge, I didn't want the tortellini to soak up all of the soup and thought more broth was a good idea! So definitely pay attention to the thickness and texture as you're going and adjust it (with more or less broth) to whatever you prefer!! 

What you need:

• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 5-6 sage leaves
• 8-10 garlic cloves
• 2 peeled and cubed butternut squashes
• 1/4 cup evoo
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 32 oz chicken or vegetable broth, (plus more for thinning out the soup texture to your liking)
• 1 cup milk (I suggest heavy cream or half and half)
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese (you can swap out for any kind of cheese that will melt!)
• Optional tortellini (I used a pound but you can use as much as you'd like for the amount of people you're serving!) 
• Parmesan, evoo and fresh sage leaves for garnishing

What to do:

1. Add the onion, sage, garlic and butternut squash to a large soup pot and pour the evoo over the top of that. Season with salt and pepper, mix together and start cooking on medium heat.
2. Once the herbs are fragrant and things have been sizzling, add the wine and cook for 5-7 minutes or until it reduces by half.
3. Add the broth and cover with a lid. Let the squash and herbs cook for 30 minutes on low-medium heat.
4. Remove the lid, discard the sage leaves and then add in the milk or cream and the ricotta cheese.
5. Blend the contents of the pot into soup! I used an immersion blender, if you don't have one, pour everything into a food processor or blender and pulse until smooth.
6. Adjust your soup with more broth and or milk/cream until it reaches desired consistency. Some like it thick (me!) but some like it more thin, so totally up to you! There's enough flavor packed into it that adding in a little more liquid won't change the taste too much or water it down.
7. Add cooked tortellini and garnish with evoo, parmesan and fried sage leaves.