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Creamy butternut squash soup with ginger

Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Yields Serves 6
Creamy Butternut Squash Soup with shaved almonds.
(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)
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Apple cider vinegar is the secret to the profound squash flavor in this butternut-squash soup with ginger. Add it a little at a time until you find the right amount. For an eight-cup batch of soup, I added it in half-teaspoon doses until I got just the right effect with a little more than a tablespoon. Remember to go slowly -- you can always add more, but you can’t take away.

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1

Peel the squash, using a sharp vegetable peeler. Cut it in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Cut in 1-inch chunks.

2

Heat the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it softens, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger root and cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the diced squash, water and salt and bring to a simmer. Cook at a low simmer until the squash is tender enough to smash with a spoon, about 30 minutes.

3

Puree the soup, either using an immersion blender or grinding it in several stages in a regular blender. The soup should be completely smooth and a little thicker than heavy cream. Ladle the soup through a strainer into a clean soup pot, discarding any bits of squash or ginger left behind.

4

Heat the soup through once more and season to taste, adding salt first and then the vinegar. Add the vinegar one-half teaspoon at a time; it will take a little more than 1 tablespoon.

5

To serve, stir the creme fraiche to loosen the texture. Ladle the soup into wide bowls and spoon 1 to 2 tablespoons of creme fraiche in a decorative pattern onto each. Scatter a few toasted slivered almonds over the soup and serve immediately.