This soup, by itself, would be good. With the chopped apple and Five Spice Nuts: it is incredible!
Ingredients:
- 4 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed
- 1 small granny smith apple, peeled and cubed
- 1 cup finely chopped onion or sliced leeks (white part only)
- 6 cups vegetable stock or chicken stock
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 or 2 packets Splenda
- 1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
Directions:
Butternut squash are actually easily to peel. Who knew?!? Grab your vegetable peeler and have at it!
Deloris found canned butternut squash. Tempting and time-saving. I am going to try it next time, but since I was awash in the fresh stuff, I decided I should use it. I tried pricking the squash all over with a fork, microwaving it for about 9 minutes, and then peeling it. It cut in half very easily at that point and I was able to scoop out the seeds and cube it. It was about halfway cooked.
Sauté the onions in a little olive oil or butter until lightly browned. Add the cubed butternut squash and the cut up apple to the pan with the onions. The pan should be on a burner with medium heat. Slowly add the 6 cups of vegetable stock or chicken stock. Cook until the squash is very tender.
Then, you want to puree the soup. You can do it in a blender or food processor if you would like, but the problem is that the liquid is very hot and the prospects for a big mess are high. I decided not to travel that route. Instead, I used my immersion blender, a Bamix. I placed it into the pot with the hot ingredients and used it to grind everything up and mix it together. After the initial blending was done, I added the cream, Splenda, nutmeg and cinnamon.
If you do choose to use a blender or food processor, please be careful and do NOT go over the fill line. The minute you flip on the blender, you are going to swear that soup doubled in size and you will have the blob that ate Philadelphia all over your counter. Who’s gonna clean that up? Yep. You know.
Return the soup to the stove and cook it on simmer for about 10 more minutes. Taste it. Like it sweeter? Add another packet of Splenda? Spicier? Add a dash of cayenne. Richer? Add a little more cream? More flavorful? Add more cinnamon and nutmeg, maybe a little thyme. Do an Internet search and see what others are using in the way of herbs that might sound good.
I made 3 batches recently. My personal favorite was the one to which I had added 2 tsp. Madras curry powder. Yum.
Spoon the soup into individual bowls. At the last moment, top with a little finely chopped apple, a teaspoon of Five Spice Nuts, and a swirl of sour cream (mixed with a little cream) squirted out of a plastic squeeze bottle.
This soup is the quintessential fall soup.
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