Butternut Squash Soup With Sage Brown Butter Drizzle - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored and cubed
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, small and chopped
2 -3 shallots, chopped
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
2 teaspoons salt (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup creme fraiche
Brown Butter Drizzle
1/4 cup butter
8 sage leaves

Preparation

Peel and core the apple; cut into rough chunks. Peel squash and cube. Note: For convenience, Costco sells packaged pre-cut butternut squash which is acceptable in this recipe.
Heat the butter and oil in a Dutch oven. Saute the onions and shallots until translucent, about 6 minutes. Leeks could be used as a substitute.
Add the apple, squash, vegetable broth and water. Bring to a boil then cover and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the squash is tender.
Puree the soup in a blender, in batches. Put the soup back in the Dutch oven and season with salt and pepper, then stir in the creme fraiche.
To make the brown butter drizzle, melt butter on medium low heat. When the butter is melted, add the sage leaves and cook for about 10 minutes until the butter becomes a golden brown. Remove to a bowl or cup. Watch the butter carefully as it can go from a yellow to a brown very quickly. The sage ends up nice a crispy and is wonderful as a garnish.
The soup can be made up to 2 days in advance.
To serve: Gently heat the soup. Garnish with sage leaves and the sage butter drizzle. I garnished it further with some creme fraiche.