Butternut Squash and Ham Soup

This is a great winter soup that I am confident your whole family will enjoy. My 10-year old daughter asked me if "I could make that really good soup with squash and ham", and I said "most definitely!" I love this soup, I just forgot about it for a while.
Every time I make this soup I think I really need to get an immersion blender. The process of pureeing it in the regular blender is somewhat cumbersome, but I am dragging my feet because I am so limited as to storage in my kitchen and I can't have everything! I'll keep thinking about it and try to convince myself I need it. If you follow my pureeing process BE CAREFUL WHEN WORKING WITH THE HOT SOUP!!


Squash and ham soup
2 T unsalted butter
1 large onion, diced
1/2 t dried rosemary, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups Winter squash (acorn, butternut etc.), peeled and diced
(I used about 1 medium butternut)
1 cup potatoes, peeled and diced (about 3 medium)
5 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup heavy cream (or half-and-half)
1 1/2 cup diced cooked ham
1/4 cup chopped scallions, for garnish

Melt the butter in a stock pot. Sweat (chef talk for saute!) the onion until translucent, about 5-10 minutes. Add the rosemary and garlic and cook another minute.
Add squash, potatoes, chicken stock and a good pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes and the squash is tender. If you are using an immersion blender puree the soup to your desired consistency. If you don't have one do as follows: Remove pot from heat. In batches puree the soup in a blender. Only fill to about 1/3 full at a time because the hot liquid will expand. I transferred the pureed soup to a large bowl. Put the pureed soup back into your pot and add the cream and ham. Heat gently. Add pepper and salt as needed.

Serves 6

(Receipe from Van Kezler, Cooks of Crocus hill)