Slightly Sweet

The weather is getting chilly (except today, it was about 82 outside), but earlier this week was perfect winter soup weather. We have been getting some beautiful squashes from CSA like acorn, spaghetti, and butternut. I have been experimenting with the butternut squash doing a few different kinds of lasagna. I finally decided to do a butternut squash soup. Butternut squash soup is very hit or miss. It has to have the perfect flavor where it's not too sweet, but just a hint so you still get that squash flavor. You also need to get the consistency spot on so you are just right in between baby food mush and watery liquefied yuck. It's sort of like Goldilocks, not too mushy not too liquidy and not too sweet and not too yuck.

I found a recipe by Ina Garten that used butternut squash and apples. The recipe seemed so simple that it would be a great dish for a cold night. My favorite part of this dish is the curry powder. Curry powder is one of the most versatile spice mixes you can have in your cupboard. It is a blend of turmeric, coriander, fenugreek, ginger, nutmeg, etc. It is great on meats, veggies, and soups. It's wonderful if you don't want to buy lots of odd ball spices but still want a complex flavored dish. It adds the perfect flavor to this soup that complements the squash and apples perfectly.

The original recipe called for McIntosh apples, but they didn't have any at Trader Joe's, so I just bought a bag of Honeycrips. Any kind of sweet apple would work just great. The recipe also called for apple juice or apple cider. I made the mistake of buying Trader Joe's Spiced Apple Cider. Plain and simple, it was just too spicy. Stick to something with just apples so you get that tiny bit of tart flavor. This dish is wonderful for a chilly night in with a movie and some good company.

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
adapted from Butternut Squash and Apple Soup by Ina Garten

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 butternut squash
• 1 sweet apples
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 c. chicken broth (plus extra if the soup is too thick)
• 1/2 cups good apple cider or juice
• Heavy cream to drizzle on top

Warm the butter, olive oil, onions, and curry powder in a large stockpot uncovered over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the onions are tender. Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot.

Peel the squash, cut in half, and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into chunks. Peel, quarter, and core the apples. Cut into chunks.

Add the squash, apples, salt, pepper, and 2 cups of chicken broth to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, until the squash and apples are very soft. Puree the soup  in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade.

Pour the soup back into the pot. Add the apple cider or juice and enough chicken broth to make the soup the consistency you like; it should be slightly sweet and quite thick. Check the salt and pepper and serve hot drizzled with some cream.