Butternut Squash/Apple Soup

[cheesecake17]

I had a butternut squash and green apple soup recently. Anyone have a recipe for something like this?

The soup was made with water, not chicken stock.

Thanks!

[greygarious]

I use Marcia Adams' version of the butternut/apple/curry soup recipe. She calls for sauteeing the peeled, cut-up squash with the onions. The little bit of caramelization boosts the flavor of the squash. This recipe uses chicken stock but if you are only using water, I would definitely recommend sauteeing or roasting first rather than boiling or steaming.

[mgebs]

I just made this very thing but also substituted about a cup of Michigan cider. Most excellent!!

[stellamystar]

If you like curry - the Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten)'s Butternut Squash/Apple soup is the best I've had so far and has some curry in it. You could use water not stock or use veggie stock. The recipe is on the food network site. yum!

[LindaWhit]

You could probably make this with water, but the chicken stock adds a really good flavor. Or maybe use a vegetable stock if it's for a vegetarian?

* Exported from MasterCook *

Gingery Roasted Butternut Squash & Apple Soup

Recipe By :Linda
Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Soup

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
***CRÈME FRAICHE***
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sour cream

***ROASTED RED PEPPER PUREE***
1 whole red pepper -- roasted

2 butternut squash -- about 4-1/2 lbs.
peeled and cut into large chunks
3 large apples -- peeled and quartered
(I used Gala Apples)
3 Tbsp olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper -- to taste
4 cups chicken stock -- up to 6 cups
(use Kitchen Basic if you can get it)
3 tsp ground ginger -- or to taste
(OR 1-2 Tbsp. of freshly grated ginger)
1/2 cup heavy cream

At least 1 day before serving:

Make the Crème Fraiche - whisk together the heavy and sour creams together
in a small bowl. Pour into a glass jar, cover, and let sit on counter for
12 hours until thick. Refrigerate until ready to use, removing at least 30
minutes before use.

Roast the Red Pepper - cut pepper in half, cut away stems and remove
seeds, and roast cut side down under broiler until skin is blackened and
charred, turning once to char inside of peppers. Put pepper halves into a
small ziplock bag and let steam for at least 15 minutes. Remove from bag;
let cool a bit, and then peel away the charred skin. Cut pepper into
strips, puree in a small food processor, and refrigerate. (Or, you could
skip this entire step and puree half of a small jar of roasted red
peppers. But homemade roasted peppers are always SO much better!)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Day of serving (or can be made day ahead and slowly reheated before
serving):

Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large roasting pan, toss butternut squash
with olive oil (use your hands to make sure the squash is lightly covered
with oil), and sprinkle salt and pepper over all. Tuck quartered apples
into open spaces, and cover roasting pan with foil. Roast for about 1
hour, or until squash is soft, removing foil for the last 15-20 minutes of
roasting and spooning any liquid over the squash. Remove from oven and
let cool down a bit.

Puree squash and apples (and any liquid in roasting pan) in batches in a
food processor or blender until very smooth, adding some of the chicken
stock to help thin it out, and then combine roasted puree with the
remainder of the chicken stock and ground ginger in a medium-sized
stockpot. Add enough chicken stock to get it to the consistency you
prefer. Bring to a slow simmer, seasoning with salt and white pepper if
needed. Add heavy cream towards the end of the simmering, blending well.

To serve, ladle soup into small bowls, drizzle with some crème fraiche in
a rough circle, and put about a tsp. or so of room temperature roasted red
pepper puree in the middle of the soup. Serve with a Parmesan crisp
alongside (I used Trader Joe's Parm crisps).

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 402 Calories; 18g Fat (38.3%
calories from fat); 6g Protein; 61g Carbohydrate; 9g Dietary Fiber; 44mg
Cholesterol; 1106mg Sodium. Exchanges: 3 Grain(Starch); 0 Vegetable; 1/2
Fruit; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 3 1/2 Fat.

NOTES :
LLW NOTES - Served on New Year's Eve, 2005 - very
good! Slightly sweet from the apples; nice "bite" from
the ginger. Crème fraiche gives it a nice little tang,
and the roasted red pepper puree gives it a different type
of sweetness.

[CindyJ]

You can easily use water in place of the chicken stock in this recipe.

Butternut Squash Soup

(Recipe serves 4 to 6. May be doubled or tripled easily)
4 TB unsalted butter
1 small sweet onion, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
1 scant tablespoon curry powder (optional)
1 large butternut squash (about 3 pounds) unpeeled, squash halved
lengthwise, seeds and stringy fibers scraped with a spoon and discarded, each half cut into quarters
1 Stayman (or other firm) apple, peeled, cored, cut into chunks
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup water

1. In a large pot, heat butter over medium heat. Add onions and shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and translucent, about 3 minutes. If using curry powder, add it and cook 3 minutes longer.)

2. Add broth and water and bring to a boil.

3. Place squash cut-side down into a steamer basket. Place apples on top of squash. Lower basket into pot. Cover and steam until squash is completely tender, about 30 minutes. Remove basket from pot and allow contents to cool.

4. Transfer apple chunks to liquid in pot. Using a large spoon, scrape squash from skin. Discard skin. Add squash to pot.

5. Using an immersion blender (stick-type, hand-held blender), puree solids in pot.

Optional toppings:
1 A dollop of plain yogurt
2 Whipped cream with a dusting of cinnamon or nutmeg (omit if using curry)
3 Buttered cinnamon-sugar croutons (see recipe below), or pass bowls of Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal to use as a garnish. Kids especially like this in their soup.

Buttered Cinnamon-Sugar Croutons

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350˚. Remove crusts from 2 slices of thick-cut, good-quality white bread, and cut into ½-inch thick cubes (about 1¼ cups of cubes). Toss cubes with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Combine 2 teaspoons sugar with ½ teaspoon cinnamon, and toss bread cubes with mixture. Spread cubes in an even layer on parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until crisp, about 8 to 10 minutes.

[cheesecake17]

Thanks! I'll let you know how it comes out

[CindyJ]

You can actually adapt many recipes to meet your needs just by adding peeled, cored apples -- just choose a variety of apple that stands up well to cooking. Add the apple to the cooking liquid along with the other ingredients in your recipe, simmer and puree. Pears are also a nice addition, especially if you want to add a little sweetness.

[cheesecake17]

I roasted the squash while I sauteed some onions, garlic, and an apple. I pureed it all together. Came out very good!