Butternut Squash-Potato Soup

My refrigerator runneth over with lidded plastic containers.  Little bits of leftovers... ganache, mincemeat filling (that apparently never goes bad), olives, squash, cooked potatoes, cheese, polenta, pickled jalapenos.


This recipe took care of a couple of containers - the squash and potatoes.  You can mash the potatoes as smooth as you'd like, or leave them a little chunky like I do.  I add a little bit of heavy cream at the end just because it was in the refrigerator and am glad that I did.  It added a delicious creaminess - just the touch this soup needed!


Butternut Squash-Potato Soup
1 cup grated carrots
1/2 cup diced onion
1 stalk celery, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 link linguica or any sausage, coarsely diced
1 cup cooked and mashed butternut squash
3 medium Gold Yukon potatoes, cooked and mashed to desired consistency
2 cans chicken broth
3 T heavy cream


Saute carrots, onions and celery in olive oil until soft, about 15 minutes.  Add garlic and saute additional 3 minutes.  Add linguica and saute for 5 minutes.  Add squash, potatoes and chicken broth and simmer for 25 minutes.  Remove from heat and add cream.  Stir well and serve.