Roasted butternut squash and apple soup

A great basic recipe that can be garnished many ways!

While some squash soup recipes call for the squash to be boiled in broth, I find that roasting it first makes for a richer tasting soup. The apples and squash combine here to make a nicely sweet flavour, but if you like your soup to have a little tang, you could add a tablespoon or two of lime juice or cider vinegar after you’ve pureed the soup. You can use vegetable stock instead of chicken if you would like to make this a vegetarian dish. This particular recipe makes a very flavourful soup with a creamy smooth texture that is elegant enough for a fancy dinner party. You can garnish it with chopped fresh herbs, a dollop of sour cream or even something crunchy like croutons, nuts or seeds if you wish.

Ingredients

• 1 medium-large butternut squash
• 2 – 3 tablespoons (30 – 45 mL) olive oil
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) butter
• 2 cups (500 mL) peeled, chopped apple
• 1 large cooking onion, chopped
• 4+ cups (1 L+) chicken stock
• 1 cup (250 mL) light (10%) cream
• 1/2 – 1 teaspoon (2.5 – 5 mL) salt (to taste)
• dash pepper, nutmeg

Method

• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Peel the squash, cut it into sections and remove seeds. Note that if you don’t like having your hands all orange and waxy for the rest of the day, you should wear rubber gloves.
• Cut squash into 1 inch cubes and put cubes in a roasting pan large enough to hold the squash in one layer.
• Drizzle with approximately 2 – 3 tablespoons of olive oil and stir till squash is thoroughly coated with oil.
• Roast for 40 – 50 minutes until squash is very tender and just beginning to brown.
• While squash is roasting, melt butter in large pot.
• Add onion and apples; cook uncovered for 5 minutes until both are softened.
• Stir in chicken stock and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes.
• When squash is cooked, add it to the soup pot.
• Depending upon size of squash used, you may need to add a bit more stock so vegetables are just covered with liquid.
• Cover pot; bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Puree the soup (using a food processor, stick blender or food mill).
• Return the soup to the pot (wipe it out first); add cream. Taste test for consistency; if it is a bit too thick, add additional cream, milk or chicken stock. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.
• If reheating, warm over low heat but do not let the soup come to a boil.

Serves 4 – 6; freezes well.