Butternut squash is one of my favorite ingredients to cook with in the Fall. There’s just something comforting about roasting its orange flesh until it becomes soft and sweet – and the wonderful color gets me every time. Apple and squash must have been high school sweethearts of sorts as their flavors meld wonderfully but also manage to stand up to one another. The great thing about these kinds of soups is that they fill your kitchen (and whole living space when your apartment is not very spacious!) with a wonderful earthy smell – and while they take a little while to simmer, the end result is grand amounts of luscious soup that can be frozen to enjoy at a later time if desired.
So, grab your favorite fleece blanket, some crusty bread and a bowl of steaming soup and just enjoy being inside and warm on a cold day.
Recipe (for 6)
1 medium-sized butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into bite-size cubes
3 apples, peeled and cored into bite-size cubes
1/2 white onion
1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons of light brown sugar
2 celery stalks
2 carrots
6 sage leaves, and one extra per soup bowl
3 cloves of garlic, diced
3 shallots, diced
1 1/2 qt of chicken stock
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Olive oil
Parmesan Bread
One loaf of sourdough bread
Olive oil
2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan
Preheat oven to 425 F. Place the butternut squash and apple cubes on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with the brown sugar, the apple cider vinegar and season generously with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Use your hands to mix the seasoning in. Cook for 30-35 minutes, or until the cubes are soft. Check on the apples after 20 minutes as they should be be ready before the butternut squash.
In the meantime, dice the onion, celery and carrots into similar size bite-size chunks. In a pot, heat a good drizzle of olive oil. Add the vegetables and stir. Cook on medium low heat for 15 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Add the chopped garlic and shallots and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the cooked apples and butternut squash. Add the 6 sage leaves (minced) and the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce to a low simmer and cover. Cook for 30 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
Blend (preferably with an immersion blender) until the soup is smooth. If the soup seems a little too chunky, add some water, one tablespoon at a time into you reach your desired texture. Keep warm on low heat.
Heat a good drizzle of olive oil (about 2 tablespoons) in a pan on high heat. Add the extra sage leaves. Turn them after 1 minute and fry on the other side for another minute. In the meantime, cut some sourdough bread into slices. Drizzle with olive oil and grated Parmesan. Grill for about 2 minutes on each side.
Serve the warm soup with a drizzle of olive oil, some cracked black pepper, a fried sage leaf and a couple pieces of bread. Enjoy!
Enjoy the read!
Audrey
November 14, 2008 at 8:42 pm (16 years ago)This is one of my favorite soups…and I like your garnishes!
Dana Treat
November 14, 2008 at 9:29 pm (16 years ago)Gorgeous! I haven’t done a butternut squash soup yet this fall and this one looks awesome. I would have to make lots of extra sage leaves since I can’t resist those.
Cakebrain
November 15, 2008 at 12:06 pm (16 years ago)I’m so loving the soup CONTAINER! It’s such a cool shape and the blue glaze is the perfect shade! I want! Your butternut squash soup looks silkily divine and I love how its autumnal colour contrasts with the soup bowls!
gkbloodsugar
November 15, 2008 at 1:59 pm (16 years ago)Classic crispy Sage garnish 😀
Nice!
Dawn
November 15, 2008 at 5:35 pm (16 years ago)I haven’t made this soup yet. I’ve been on a roasted red pepper kick lately. And butternut squash is so good for you too.
Gorgeous photos.
Erik
November 15, 2008 at 6:14 pm (16 years ago)The photography is amazing. If the flavor matches the presentation, it must be incredible!
Life for Beginners
November 16, 2008 at 12:57 am (16 years ago)That loooks simply heart-warming for a cold, rainy day. We don’t have winters here in Malaysia, unfortunately, nor do we have butternut squashes so I’m thinking of substituting the butternut squash with pumpkin… Would it work, you think?
We definitely have the apples, sage, parmesan and bread though, haha.
Joanna
November 16, 2008 at 12:11 pm (16 years ago)Never cooked apples with butternut. Will now. Great post
Joanna
Marc @ NoRecipes
November 16, 2008 at 10:48 pm (16 years ago)This looks great! I can never seem to get the sage leaf crisping thing down (it either ends up burnt or limp). Looks like you’ve got it sorted out:-)
gail
November 17, 2008 at 1:36 am (16 years ago)sigh…I LOVE your blog! It is everything I want to eat. EVERY recipe! YUMmmmmmmmmmm!
Darius T. Williams
November 17, 2008 at 9:09 am (16 years ago)so yes…this totally excites me! espeically the grilled bread!
-DTW
http://www.everydaycookin.blogspot.com
Angela
November 17, 2008 at 7:41 pm (16 years ago)I love the idea of combining apple and butternut squash. Brilliant! What a gorgeous blog you have. I’m your newest fan!
Tara
November 18, 2008 at 11:41 pm (16 years ago)I am definitely making this on the weekend! Looks so delicious!
Deborah
November 19, 2008 at 9:40 am (16 years ago)Those are some gorgeous bowls of soup! I love butternut squash soup, and this sounds like a delicious version!