Mmmmm, soup!

This recipe may be better suited for a fall or winter's evening, but I happened to make it tonight and it was so good I just had to share it. I had a bunch of things sitting around that I wanted to use up, and just kind of threw them all together to see how it would turn out. It's an absolutely delicious, soothing, rich soup. I love it.

1 13-oz pkg defrosted winter squash
1/2 onion, diced
2 or 3 cloves garlic, chopped
thyme (about 3 strands if using fresh)
1 pkg white mushrooms, chopped
1 tsp butter
olive oil
salt & pepper
3 tbsp heavy cream (plus a bit more)
about 1 cup chicken stock

First, saute the onion and garlic in butter, and a little oil to raise the smoke point. Salt to soften the onion faster. When onion is very soft and slightly golden, remove from heat and set aside. In the same pan, saute the mushrooms with a tiny bit more olive oil and the thyme. Salt and pepper liberally.

When the mushrooms have cooked down and are quite soft, transfer to food processor, add the onion mixture, the squash, about 1/2 cup chicken stock, and about 3 tbsp cream. Puree for about a minute, then add more stock and cream to get a thick, creamy soup. It should not take more than another 1/2 cup of stock, and perhaps another 2 tbsp cream.

When pureed to your liking, pour soup into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Immediately turn down the heat and simmer about 5 minutes.

I would serve this with roast chicken and an endive/fennel/blue cheese salad.