Butternut & Kielbasa Soup
A creamy blend of butternut squash and light cream topped with chunks of kielbasa sausage. A great winter soup, but I make it all year round.
A creamy blend of butternut squash and light cream topped with chunks of kielbasa sausage. A great winter soup, but I make it all year round.
- Carbohydrate 24.311674375 g
- Cholesterol 142.705 mg
- Fat 53.619964375 g
- Fiber 2.59784999394417 g
- Protein 25.863515625 g
- Saturated Fat 21.73878325 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (536g)
- Sodium 1164.325375 mg
- Sugar 21.7138243810558 g
- Trans Fat 4.046914625 g
- Calories 679 calories
Step-by-step
- Peel squash and cut in 1" cubes (an easy way to do this is place the entire squash in a preheated 350 degree oven until squash has softened, then peel away the skin after the squash has cooled).
- Place squash in a 2 quart (or larger) stock pot with marjoram, chicken stock and cayenne, cook uncovered over medium heat for 30 minutes or until squash is tender.
- When cooked, allow the squash to cool slightly (unless you have a food processor or blender that can withstand the heat), then place the squash (a little at a time) into the blender or processor until smooth.
- Return squash to the pot (leave heat at medium-low) then stir in cream and butter and allow to simmer for another 15 minutes still uncovered.
- While soup is simmering, slice Kielbasa sausage (width wise) 1/4 inch thick and saute' in oil until brown, remove from heat and place in a bowl.
- When soup is heated through, ladle soup in a bowl and top each bowl with Kielbasa.
Raw butternut squash resists standard paring knives due to a dense cellular wall structure, but roasting the whole vegetable at 350 degrees Fahrenheit softens the exterior tissue for easy peeling. Fresh marjoram contributes volatile aromatic oils containing terpene compounds, which pair effectively with the natural beta-carotene sweetness of the squash. Simmering the cubed vegetable uncovered in four cups of chicken stock allows excess water to evaporate, concentrating the starch before blending.
Pureeing cooked squash ruptures cell walls to release intracellular starches, creating a velvety colloidal suspension without requiring flour or cornstarch thickeners. Adding one cup of light cream introduces milk fats that coat the tongue, mitigating the sharp spice of a single cayenne pinch. Butter provides butyric acid, rounding out the mouthfeel as the liquid reduces over medium-low heat for fifteen minutes.
Kielbasa sausage brings cured pork flavor and heavy fat content, offset by the high sugar content of the vegetable base. Slicing the meat into quarter-inch rounds maximizes surface area contact during the browning process in one tablespoon of cooking oil. Maillard reactions on the sausage exterior generate complex savory pyrazines that contrast against the smooth soup base.
Heavy cream can be replaced with full-fat coconut milk at a one-to-one ratio, though lauric acid will impart a distinct tropical aroma that alters the final profile. Using vegetable broth instead of chicken stock reduces the overall protein content while shifting the umami balance toward earthier mushroom notes. Ladle the hot soup immediately after the sausage finishes browning to maintain optimal textural contrast between the crisp meat and the creamy purée.
