One of my favorite things about Fall and Winter is the legitimate excuse to make and eat soup as often as you fancy. When I spotted a recipe for Leek, Butternut Squash & Potato Soup over on Aran's blog; Cannelle et Vanille I knew I had to give it a try (my first homemade soup of the season). I like to cook, but I generally stick with ingredients I know well. Squash is something that I rarely use (maybe once previously) and I'm pretty sure I've never prepared a leek before...so I was a little bit timid heading into this one. However I followed Aran's recipe closely (substituting veggie broth for the chicken stock and adding the garlic in to sauté with the leeks) and it turned out deliciously (I'm afraid my photo doesn't really do it justice). It's hard to believe that so much flavor is possible from so few ingredients. Yum! If you're a soup lovin' guy or gal after my own heart, then be sure to add this one onto your must-make list pronto.
I also whipped up a quick batch of these Flaky Buttery Biscuits to accompany the soup and they were really good. I will definitely be making the recipe again to eat with savory soups and for breakfast with tea and Peach Amareto Jam. Mmmm.
Oh, and a word to the wise. I had no idea this was possible, but apparently some people (me) have a reaction to the peeled skin of the squash. After peeling said veggie my hands began to feel odd. Shortly thereafter the skin puckered up and felt as if I had poured superglue all over them. Washing them repeatedly didn't alleviate the problem...I even got so desperate that I put some goo-be-gone on my hands, which again did nothing. My hands feel better today, but just incase you also happen to be one of the lucky few who react to squash, you may want to wear rubber gloves to be on the safe side.