Butternut Squash and Chicken Chowder

Final exam week at Scotlandville Magnet, and I went in prepared. I have studied for these exams the way I study for everything — in advance, in sequence, with review sessions that build on each other rather than the all-night panic approach that I see some of my classmates trying. I do not all-night anything. MawMaw Shirley says you cannot learn while you are exhausted any more than you can taste while you have a cold. The senses need to be working. The brain is a sense.

Chemistry exam was what I expected: hard and interesting, the best kind of hard. The Louisiana history exam required me to produce approximately forty dates, which I did. The algebra exam was almost enjoyable, which I know is an unusual thing to say about a math exam, but algebra is a set of rules with internal logic and I find the internal logic of things deeply satisfying. Everything else was manageable.

On Thursday after my last exam, I came home and made soup. Just because I wanted to. Not from a recipe — I looked in the refrigerator and saw some leftover chicken, some celery, some carrots, a can of white beans, and I made a soup that did not have a name and did not need one. I sautéed the vegetables, added the beans and chicken, made a broth from scratch with bay leaves and peppercorns and whatever herbs were in the cabinet, and let it go for two hours. Kayla wandered into the kitchen, smelled it, said it smelled like MawMaw's house, and sat down at the table to wait. I gave her the first bowl.

The soup was good. Not a recipe. Not a science project. Just a thing I knew how to do because I have been paying attention for thirteen years. Paying attention has to go somewhere. This is where mine is going.

The soup I made that Thursday didn’t have a name, but this recipe is the closest thing to it — the same bones, the same logic, just written down for the first time. If you have leftover chicken, a can of white beans, and some vegetables that need using, this chowder comes together the way that soup always should: with patience and attention, not panic. MawMaw Shirley would recognize it immediately.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 stalks celery, sliced
2 medium carrots, sliced into coins
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed (about 1 small squash)
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or roughly chopped
1 can (15 oz) white beans (cannellini or great northern), drained and rinsed
4 cups chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium store-bought
2 cups water
2 bay leaves
6 whole black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon dried sage
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup heavy cream (optional, for a richer finish)
Fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped, for serving

Instructions

Build your base. Heat olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, for 6 to 8 minutes until the vegetables have softened and the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more, just until fragrant.
Add the squash and liquids. Stir in the butternut squash, then pour in the chicken broth and water. Add the bay leaves, peppercorns, thyme, rosemary, and sage. Bring everything to a boil over medium-high heat.
Simmer low and slow. Reduce the heat to low, partially cover the pot, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, until the butternut squash is completely tender and beginning to break down slightly at the edges. This is where the broth gets its body.
Add chicken and beans. Stir in the cooked chicken and white beans. Remove the lid entirely and continue simmering over low heat for another 10 to 12 minutes, allowing the flavors to come together and the broth to reduce slightly.
Finish the soup. Remove and discard the bay leaves and fish out the whole peppercorns if you can. If using heavy cream, stir it in now and heat through for 2 minutes without boiling. Taste carefully and adjust salt and pepper. The broth should be savory and full — if it needs depth, a pinch more salt will bring it forward.
Serve. Ladle into bowls and top with fresh parsley. Serve with crusty bread or warm dinner rolls. Give the first bowl to whoever wandered into the kitchen following the smell.

Nutrition (per serving)

Butternut Squash and Chicken Chowder — What Paying Attention Tastes Like