In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium until the surface shimmers. Cook the sausage until browned, breaking up the big chunks as you go. Transfer the sausage to bowl and set aside.**

If the pot is a bit dry, add another drizzle of oil.

Saute the onions the and butternut squash until the onions are soft and some of the squash cubes have started to soften, 8-10 minutes (they won’t be cooked through at this point). Cover with a lid to trap the heat and steam within, to speed cooking.

Sprinkle a big pinch each of salt and black pepper over the vegetables, followed by the Italian herbs, and garlic. Stir well to mix for a minute or two. The garlic should be fragrant.

Add the broth, raise the heat to high, and bring the soup to a boil. Adjust the heat down as necessary to maintain an active simmer (bubbling, but not roiling). Cook for 5 minutes. The squash should be soft (test by smushing a cube against the side of the pot).

Use an immersion blender to pulse the soup, smoothing it out to your preferred texture: Pulse a few times for a soup with some squash chunks. Pulse a little more for a smooth soup with some texture. Or whirl for about 30 seconds for a velvety soup. Keep the soup at a simmer.

Add the lasagna noodles to the soup and simmer for the amount of time noted on the package plus 3 extra minutes***, or until the noodles are completely cooked.

Place the Boursin cubes in a medium mixing bowl and add two ladles of the hot soup. Whisk until smooth. Add the cream to the bowl and whisk again. Pour the mixture into the soup, stirring well.

Add the cooked sausage back to the pot.

Sprinkle a pinch of nutmeg over the soup (or 2 or 3 grates from a whole nutmeg nut), or red pepper flakes, if using either.

Taste the soup and add more salt and pepper if necessary, to your liking.

Top the soup with the cheese. Hold some back for adding to individual bowls, if you’d like.