Butternut Squash & Carrot Soup...with Peas

Yesterday we were invited to dinner at our friends' new house in beautiful Portola Valley. They moved down the Peninsula from San Francisco over the Summer and it was our first time visiting. Their house is in the middle of the woods and beautiful inside and out. It was rainy, which made for being warm and cozy inside, and the kids had a fantastic time playing together.

Dash and I brought butternut squash soup adapted from My Father's Daughter for the starter, Hilary & Colin made an amazing udon sea bass dish and for dessert we had Mark's famous Green Tea Cheesecake with hand-whipped whip cream. Yum!

The kids and grown ups ate all of the soup, it was a huge hit. Here's the recipe:

      Butternut Squash Soup with Peas
      Adapted from My Father's Daughter, organic ingredients used where possible

      1 1/2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
      3 Tbs butter (MFD calls for unsalted, I only had salted)
      2 large red onions, peeled and roughly chopped (about 3 cups)
      4 cloves garlic, peeled and put through the garlic press
      1 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
      3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
      3/4 tsp garam masala
      1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced (about 7 cups of 1/2 pieces)
      4 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped (about 3 cups)
      2 Tbs pure Vermont maple syrup
      4 cups warm vegetable stock
      1 1/2 cup frozen peas

• Heat the olive oil and butter in a soup pot over medium heat. 
• Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion begins to soften (approximately 10 minutes).
• Add the salt, pepper and garam masala and cook for another 2 minutes.
• Add the squash and 1 cup of the carrot and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring every so often. At this point, I covered the dish and turned off the heat for about an hour and a half, which caused the veggies to heavily caramelize. 
• Turn the heat back on and drizzle the maple syrup over the caramelized vegetable mixture.
• Pour the warm stock into the pot and stir to combine.  (Add enough water to cover the veggies if they aren't already by the stock.)
• Add the remaining carrots.
• Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until the carrots are soft.
• Puree the mixture with an immersion blender (this is Dash's favorite part) or let it cool and puree in batches in a blender.
• If cooled, re-warm the soup, then add the frozen peas and stir until combined.
• Season to taste and enjoy!