Rhea's Rundown
This butternut squash soup is the ideal thing to help friends and family warm up from the wintry weather. All the ingredients blend together to create a rich and smooth flavor, with just a touch of sweetness from the apples and cinnamon. I love the twist on the garnish, which is so visually dynamic it will be sure to excite any guest who sees it coming. This dish is a little more involved than the dip, but is still surprisingly easy. The major hurdles involve cooking off the bacon, some coarse chopping of vegetables, and pureeing it all by batches. In total, the whole process took me about 30 minutes!
Ingredients – Serves 8
- 6 slices bacon, cut crosswise into ½” pieces
- 2 celery ribs, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ lb. boiling potatoes
- 2 medium Granny Smith apples
- 1 ½ lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into ½” pieces
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock or oth
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Sour cream
Directions
1. Cook bacon in a 6-quart heavy pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, then transfer to paper towels to drain, reserving 2 tablespoons of fat in pot. (Add vegetable oil if needed.)
2. Cook celery, carrot, and onion in fat in pot over low heat, covered, stirring occasionally, until softened but not owned, 10-12 minutes. Add cinnamon; cook, uncovered, stirring, 1 minute.
3. Meanwhile, peel and coarsely chop potatoes. Peel and core 1 apple; coarsely chop.
4. Stir squash, potato, apple, stock, 2 cups water, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper into onion mixture; simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, 15-20 minutes.
5. Puree soup in batches, and then heat in cleaned pot over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. (Add ½ cup water to thin, if necessary.)
6. While soup is heating, cut enough of remaining apple into matchsticks to equal about ½ cup.
7. Serve soup topped with sour cream, bacon, and apple matchsticks.
“Butternut Squash and Apple Soup.” The Best Recipes from Bon Appétit and Gourmet: Holiday Entertaining. Gourmet Live November 2010. Conde Nast. New York 2014. Print.
Rhea Torreon
