Butternut soup, no frills

A couple of days ago we decided to give that butternut we’ve been saving a chance to do its stuff -- and with no frills. We have been enjoying a return to more normal January weather: chilly but not freezing, cloudy but not overcast all day. In fact, we’ve even become connoisseurs of midday sun and take advantage of the brief appearance of few hours of sun every day. Even the village dogs were let out for an afternoon of dogging around, so why not us?

Here is a good soup for days like these in mid-January. Just cut the butternut into little spoonsized pieces. Saute a cut-up onion and then add the butternut and braise covered until soupy. Keep the spices and whatnot simple: marinated raisins, almond milk, etc. The raisins will pick up the butternut’s hint of sweetness without going overboard. If you have fresh orange peel, slivers of the zest, chopped finely, add a nice aroma and zingy little surprise on the tongue that goes well with butternut.

Stewed apples are also a good condiment to have à table.

We served the soup with a salad of lettuce and spinach with slivers of topinambour.