Butternut Chipotle Soup

I can't pretend it's late summer anymore. The trees are yellow, red, and orange. It's time for my tiny hometown's scavenger hunt. And I can't stop eating squash. All are the true signs of fall.

The scavenger hunt is tonight. It's a quaint tradition that is so fun. No matter how many years I live in the big city I will love small town quirks like this. We pile into a car and race other cars to clues, running around in the dark with flashlights. It's a hoot! Can't wait.

Pre-hunt fuel must be full of veggies and this soup is a great way to consume a ton of healthy nutrients. This soup is similar in method to my split pea soup (only 3 basic ingredients - onion, stock, split peas!) but with a kick of added chipotles, inspired by this recipe. I added a swirl of plain yogurt to cool down the heat of the chipotle and it was needed.

Because my disdain for pureed soups is well-documented, I'm sure you understand why I needed a hearty sandwich along side this soup for dipping. Seriously, as long as I have teeth in working order I just can't eat an all-mush meal. So I made this yummy fall-tasting Fontina, Pear, and Arugula Panini with a big slathering of dijon mustard. To the trees!! (inside joke for my fellow scavengers).

Butternut Chipotle Soup

1 medium yellow onion, diced

4 cups vegetable stock

1/2 large roasted butternut squash (about 3-4 cups of squash)

1 teaspoon chipotle sauce, or 1 whole chipotle if you can take the heat!

plain yogurt (can substitute sour cream or creme fraiche)

In a large stock pot over medium high heat, sweat your onion in olive oil and/or butter with salt and pepper until soft (about 5 minutes). Add stock and squash and chipotle sauce. I just used the liquid in the can, not an actual chipotle - but do what you want based on your spice tolerance.

Simmer 15 minutes. In small batches, blend in blender until thick and creamy. Serve super hot with swirls of plain yogurt.

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