Butternut squash and fennel soup

Serves 8 as a side, 4 as a main

Prep time: approximately 30 minutes

I’m a little nostalgic about the start of this recipe. I made it up when I went to visit my grandmother after she had a knee replacement many years ago. She was living alone, and in her late 70s or early 80s, so I figured that I would cook a ton that could be easily frozen and reheated so that she could stay off her feet for a while. I arrived a day after her surgery, she was already moving things around the house, and got up from her chair to stand next to me as a cooked the soup, despite my insistence that I was there to help, not to create more for her to do! I miss cooking with her so, so much.

1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

2 apples - granny smith or similar, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 fennel bulb, diced

1/2 red onion, diced

2 sprigs rosemary

1 oz fresh sage leaves - 5 for soup and others to fry and top for garnish

3/4 cup, buttermilk

1T olive oil

1T butter

1 carton chicken broth (or, to make vegetarian, use vegetable stock)

First fry the sage leaves - I do this first so I do not have to dirty an additional pan, plus the flavor of the sage gets imparted to the rest of the soup. Add oil to a Dutch oven and heat to medium. Once warm, add clean and dry sage leaves to the oil, allowing them to fry until they change color, or about 30 seconds. Flip over and cook for an additional 15 seconds, then remove and place on a paper towel to cool.

Once the sage leaves have been removed, add butter to the pan. Then, add butternut squash, onion and fennel to the pan. Place rosemary on top. Cook until everything is beginning to soften, or about 7 minutes. Add apples and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add stock and scrape the bottom of the pan to make sure you bring up all of the pan drippings. Blend soup with an immersion blender until smooth, then stir in buttermilk. Serve warm.