Buttercup Soup

A good thing about soup is that there’s usually enough for later. This recipe for buttercup soup will fill your kitchen (and apartment if you live in a city..) with a savory-sweet aroma that feels like crunching leaves in a park. This soup was so good I brought it to work the next day. Toiling over budgets with my colleague Linda has never been so painless.


Buttercup Soup
Serves 4 and costs about $6

1 buttercup squash, peeled (don’t slice off your fingers) and chopped
2 medium sweet potatoes, washed and chopped (do not peel)
3-4 cups of stock
3-4 leeks chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic
Salt, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, turmeric, ginger to taste
Olive oil

Add a couple tablespoons of olive oil to a soup kettle and saute onions for a few minutes. Add garlic for a few minutes more. Add squash, sweet potatoes, and seasonings and cook over medium high heat for about 5-10 minutes, until the squash seems heated through. Add 3-4 cups of stock (more if you’d like). Bring soup to boil.


Give the soup a few spins with a ladle and boil for a just a few minutes. Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer, about 2-3 cups at a time, to a blender. Puree until just mixed and add to a bowl. When completed, return soup to kettle and cook for a few more minutes.