Roasted Butternut Squash & Apple Soup
I love soup. I love making soup. I love eating soup. I love thinking about soup. I make a lot of soup once the temperature starts to drop below 70 degrees, because there are only a few short months of cool, soup-eating weather to enjoy here in Houston, and I have to take advantage of the opportunity while it lasts. This is the time of year when my bright red Le Creuset pots become a permanent fixture on my stovetop and one of my big, antique Yellowware bowls holds several curvy butternut squash on the kitchen table--an edible centerpiece waiting to be used.
Butternut squash is the vegetable that makes me flirt with the idea of becoming a vegetarian every time I eat it. I love it. It's my favorite winter vegetable. I've already made this with it. But I've held off on making a soup with it only because a good recipe has eluded me. Until now. And take a wild guess at whose recipe I'm using? That's right! Ina Garten does it again. Well, sort of. Three of her cookbooks each have butternut squash soup recipes, but none appealed to me as-is. Two of the recipes called for curry powder, which I detest with a passion. Only one of the recipes called for roasting the butternut squash beforehand. That I liked. One of the curry-containing recipes called for apples. I liked that too. So I took the components from the two recipes I liked best and merged them together. But I didn't stop there. My good friend Stacey has a fantastic butternut squash soup recipe that her family has been making for years. They add fresh ginger to their recipe and I loved that idea. Now, I knew I had a winner of a recipe on my hands.
I can't emphasize enough how much more flavor you get out of your vegetables when you roast them. I could have eaten the butternut squash right off of the baking sheet after those caramelized golden cubes came out of the oven. It's amazing what a little salt, pepper and olive oil can do. The apples got roasted as well. They took less time to cook than the squash, but the end result was equally impressive. They came out golden and added just the right amount of sweetness to the soup, but their flavor stayed subtle.
As if the squash and apples couldn't get any more flavorful, they were then added to the standard soup base of butter, olive oil, and onions, along with the delightful zing of ginger--just enough to taste its warmth in every spoonful. Instead of water, chicken broth added another dimension of flavor and permeated all the ingredients while they simmered on the stovetop, the scent perfuming my kitchen. Finally, it was time for the soup to come together with the help of a blender. What were once separate ingredients were now blended together into a smooth, rich soup the color of the golden light that filters through my windows every afternoon. I ladled myself a bowl, took a taste and knew I had finally pieced together the recipe I had been looking for all along.
Roasted Butternut Squash & Apple Soup
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Parties and my friend Stacey (Hi Stacey!)To roast the butternut squash and apples
1 3lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 small apples (such as Gala, Fuji or McIntosh), cubed
1/4 cup + 1T. extra virgin olive oil
3/4 tsp. salt, divided
3/4 tsp. pepper, dividedPreheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a large bowl, season the cubed sqaush with 1/4 cup of the olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Mix well and transfer to a baking sheet. Spread out in an even layer.
In the same bowl, season the apples with the 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Mix well and transfer to another baking sheet. Spread out in an even layer.
Roast the apples and the squash until they are caramelized and tender--about 30 minutes for the apples and 40 minutes for the squash. When they are fully cooked, remove them from the oven and set aside.
To make the soup
1 cup chopped onion (a small onion)
2 T. unsalted butter
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. fresh ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
4 cups chicken brothIn a large soup pot, melt the butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until they become tender and transluscent. Season with the 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Add the ginger and stir well for 30 seconds. Adjust the heat as necessary so the ingredients do not burn. Add the roasted squash and apples and mix well. Add in the broth, then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes.
Working in batches, ladle the squash-apple-broth mixture into the caraffe of a blender, filling it only halfway. Remove the piece from the blender's lid and cover it with a folded dishcloth (this will allow steam to escape without burning your hand). Pulse the ingredients until smooth. Transfer to another pot. Continue blending until all the soup is pureed. Reheat over very low heat if necessary. Serve hot.
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I wonder if I'll be brave enough to try this for Thanksgiving! This looks so good and I bet it's delicious!