Apple-Butternut Squash Soup

It’s me here---your delinquent blogger. My profound apologies, but this fall has been crazy hectic. It is not that I haven’t been cooking---I have been cooking A LOT and hosting dinners, supper clubs, etc., but I am so pressed for time that documenting each step of the cooking process is just not happening. But lucky for all of you, I absolutely hate cold weather and plan to go into hibernation fairly soon which means lots of staying indoors and lots of time to cook.


So as you will soon learn, I am on a soup kick. It all started a couple of weeks ago when we ate dinner at a friend’s house and had the most fabulous soup. It was a casual dinner with friends, but for some reason, starting off the meal with a nice homemade bowl of soup just kind of kicked the “gourmetness” of the dinner party up a few notches. I loved it so much, in fact, that it finally motivated me to buy an immersion hand blender, so I could also start making creamy soups. I have been trying to avoid the temptation of buying more kitchen gadgets (opening my kitchen cabinets has become hazardous at this point), but the hand blender is well worth it. If you have any creative uses for it other than soups, please feel free to share. ;-)

I was inspired to make this recipe because this past weekend, while visiting my parents in Memphis (see I told you I was busy), my husband ordered Apple-Butternut Squash soup at a restaurant. It was fantastic, and as luck would have it, Martha Stewart has a similar recipe. This soup was delicious, and the spices add a little kick to it. I think the next time I make it though I might use 3 apples instead of 4. I like to have a greater squash to apple ratio, but maybe that’s just me. I also love this soup because it looks so fancy and would make a great first course at a dinner party especially because it can be made a couple of days ahead of time.
Enjoy!



Here is what you will need:

Step 1:  Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to soften, about 4 minutes.

Step 2: Chop the Butternut Squash (I did this the night before to minimize prep time). Add squash, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes.

Step 3: Peel and dice the apples.

Step 4: Add apples, salt, cumin, coriander, ginger, cayenne, black pepper, stock, and the water (just enough to cover). Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook until vegetables are very soft, about 30 minutes.

Step 5: Puree in batches in a food processor or blender until smooth, and return to saucepan. Heat over low, thinning with more water if necessary.



This is what happens when I give my husband the camera.

Step 6: To serve, ladle into shallow bowls; garnish with diced apples, jalapeno slices, and sour cream if desired. 

Recipe Courtesy: Martha Stewart

Ingredients

Serves 6

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 medium onion, diced
1 butternut squash (about 2 pounds), peeled, seeded, and chopped
4 red or golden apples, peeled, cored, and chopped, plus 1 apple, finely diced and tossed in lemon juice, for garnish (optional)
2 teaspoons coarse salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
2 1/2 cups water, plus more if needed
1 jalapeno chile, thinly sliced, for garnish (optional)
Sour cream, for garnish (optional)

Directions

1.Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to soften, about 4 minutes. Add squash, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes.

2.Add apples, salt, cumin, coriander, ginger, cayenne, black pepper, stock, and the water (just enough to cover). Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook until vegetables are very soft, about 30 minutes.

3.Puree in batches in a food processor or blender until smooth, and return to saucepan. Heat over low, thinning with more water if necessary. To serve, ladle into shallow bowls; garnish with diced apples, jalapeno slices, and sour cream if desired.

Helpful Hint from Martha Stewart

The soup can be made ahead of time and refrigerated up to 3 days or frozen up to a month; let cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Reheat gently before serving (thaw frozen soup overnight in the refrigerator).