Mint-Summer Squash Soup with Buttermilk and Potatoes

My boyfriend recently had to have an emergency root canal, so I knew soup would be on the menu for dinner.  Since we had a metric ton of summer squash from our CSA, I looked around for recipes featuring squash and zucchini.  This one was the winner because it included potatoes to bulk it up a bit (when you're just eating soup for dinner, zucchini alone probably isn't going to cut it) and because it had a healthy dose of buttermilk, which I just happened to have in the fridge.  I wasn't quite sure what to expect, because I think pureed soups can sometimes be a little too much like baby food, but I was pleasantly surprised!  The flavor here is excellent - the buttermilk and fresh mint really make the soup 'pop.'  And, the potatoes and dairy do make this soup filling enough to eat as a light meal (maybe add some bread on the side if you can chew!).  Best of all, the soup is really easy to prepare, so you'll have dinner on the table quickly.

Mint-Summer Squash Soup with Buttermilk and Potatoes (adapted from 101 Cookbooks, original recipe here)
Serves 4

2 T butter
1 shallot, minced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
Salt
Aleppo pepper flakes
1 pound summer squash, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1-1/4 pound potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
3 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup minced fresh mint
2/3 cup buttermilk
Feta cheese, to serve

1. Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium heat.  Add the shallots and garlic, along with a few good-sized pinches each of salt and Aleppo pepper flakes.  Stir for a few minutes, until the shallots and garlic are softened and starting to brown.
2. Add the squash and potatoes and cook for a few minutes, stirring.
3. Stir in the broth, bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer.  Simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.  Stir in the mint.
4. Remove the soup from the heat.  Puree the soup with a hand blender.  Off the heat, whisk in the buttermilk.  Taste and adjust seasoning - I added both more salt and more Aleppo pepper.
5. Serve as-is, or topped with crumbled feta cheese.