Butternut Squash Soup with Caramelized Apples - Sweet ReciPEAs (2024)
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This Butternut Squash Soup with Caramelized Apples and Maple Cider Cream is made with butternut squash and apple cider perfect for fall.
There are only a few of you who aren’t getting soup weather (I’m looking at you Phoenix).
But where I’m at we are in full on chilly weather.
Which means spaniel snuggles, sweatshirts (and pants let’s be honest), blankets, hot chocolate, and soup!
I love butternut squash soup but everywhere I go they seem to put curry in it…and I don’t like curry.
Even this Butternut Squash Soup with Caramelized Apples that this is adapted from is a curried butternut squash soup.
So non-curry lovers who also like butternut squash soup unite! 🙂
I have made a soup for us.
This does run on the sweet side but you can throw in a dash of cayenne to cut that if you like.
The winners for the Quaker Off You Go contest were contacted via email today (half have responded back already) so please check your emails (and spam) to see if you won.
I was going to list the winners but most people give just their first name and that confuses people.
4 pounds butternut squash (about 2 medium), cubed…I bought mine pre-cut and weighed them out
1 TBSP olive oil
2 tsp. sea salt
2 TBSP unsalted butter
1 large sweet onion
1 TBSP minced fresh ginger
4 cups chicken broth
1 TBSP apple cider vinegar
1 cup apple cider (juice)
Salt and pepper to taste
For the Apple Topping:
1 large apple, I used Gala
1 TBSP unsalted butter
1 TBSP brown sugar
Pinch of salt
For the Maple Cider Cream:
1/3 cup sour cream
¼ cup maple syrup
1 TBSP apple cider
Pinch of cayenne if you like a touch of heat
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F.
Place the cubed squash in a large bowl and coat with oil and then 2 tsp. salt.
Place on a baking sheet with parchment paper and roast until tender. I had larger pieces so it took about 50 minutes. Just watch it.
The last 20 minutes of the squash cooking start to prepare the soup.
Add the 2 TBSP butter, onions, and ginger to a large, heavy stockpot.
Cook over medium heat until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.When squash is cool, put into the stock pot and mash with a potato masher. If you don’t get it all don’t worry it’s going to be blended later.
Add the broth and apple juice and stir well.
Continue to cook on medium to bring soup up to a simmer, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook for another 30 minutes.
While the soup is cooking make the cider cream and apples.
For the Apple Topping:
Peel, core, and dice the apple into uniform ¼ inch cubes (do your best).
Melt butter in a sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the apples, stirring often, until the apples start to caramelize, about 3 minutes.
Add the brown sugar and salt and cook until the sugar melts and coats the apples.
Remove from pan and set aside.
For the cream:
Whisk together in a small bowl the sour cream, maple syrup, cider vinegar, and cayenne (if using) until fully combined.Set aside in the fridge until ready to use. I out mine in a squeeze bottle for decoration purposes on the soup.
To finish the soup:
When the soup is done cooking, use an immersion blender to puree it smooth. If you don’t own one like me then you can use a blender and very carefully puree in batches before returning to the pot. Just be careful because of it being so hot.
Stir in the apple cider and season with salt and pepper to your liking.If the soup is too thick you can thin with more stock or apple juice.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with maple cider cream and caramelized apples.
Dry cooking methods such as roasting and sauteeing tend to bring a squash's sugars to the fore. You might want to blanch or par-cook the squash in a little bit of water before sauteeing; that would diminish the sweetness somewhat but allow you to finish the dish in the prescribed fashion.
If your dish is a little too sweet, try rounding out the sweetness by adding flavors or ingredients that are sour, bitter, or spicy. It may be obvious not to add more sweet ingredients, but you should also stay away from salty ones since they actually bring out the sweetness in food.
What to Serve with Butternut Squash Soup. Enjoy this soup as a starter, side, or main dish. When I'm making it the center of a meal, I serve it with good crusty bread, homemade focaccia, avocado toast, or corn muffins and a simple veggie side or fall salad.
The flesh of the squash is soft and tender—perfect for a smooth pureed soup. Why is my butternut squash soup gritty? Under-cooked squash will make this soup more gritty than smooth. Make sure all of your vegetables (and fruits) are very tender before blending and you'll have effortlessly creamy soup every time.
If it's underripe, the squash won't have developed its signature taste. If it's overripe, it may be dry, mushy or flavorless. Follow these tips the next time you're at the grocery store or farmers market to find the perfect recipe-ready butternut squash.
Sage and Nutmeg: both of these spices pair beautifully with butternut squash and add a depth of flavor that you will love. Salt and pepper: brings out the flavors in the soup. You may want to use more or less to taste, but the measurements provided are what tasted best to me.
Chicken or turkey or pork goes well with butternut squash. I personally enjoy using a blend of mild curry powder cumin cinnamon and nutmeg (or pumpkin spices) on buttered cooked diced or puréed squash. Then make a complimentary dish with similar spices and flavors.
How long can you keep butternut squash soup? This Butternut Squash Soup will last about 4-5 days in the refrigerator. As always, use common sense and if it doesn't smell right, then throw it out.
Butternut squash contains a sticky, sap-like substance that is released when the fruit (squash is technically a fruit) is cut. The liquid is so strong that it can harden into protective scab if the squash becomes cut or damaged—much like a tree.
The fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum causes white mold. This pathogen infects a wide variety of vegetable crops including beans, carrots, tomato, cabbage and lettuce. In the cucurbit family, the disease severely affects pumpkins and some varieties of winter squash.
Too Sweet. The Fix: Tone down an overly sweet dish by adding a sour, salty, or bitter ingredient to it. Sour fruit (such as blackberries or cherries), cooling herbs such as mint, and chopped nuts work well in sweets such as cakes, cookies, and pies.
Add other seasonings, mostly salt or vinegar. Seasonings are about balance. The saltier or more sour something tastes, the less sweet it is. Both onions and cabbage can take an awful lot of vinegar, because they're both inherently pretty sweet.
The flesh of the butternut squash is a deep orange color, with a distinctive butterscotch flavor that most people find delicious. They are quite tasty either steamed or baked and are excellent topped with maple syrup! The smaller squash tend to be the sweetest.
A Butternut has the longest storage potential of all squash varieties. The longer you store it, the sweeter and nuttier the flavor becomes. The flesh is orange, smooth-textured, and has a unique sweet flavor — particularly after 3 months of storage.
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Introduction: My name is Msgr. Benton Quitzon, I am a comfortable, charming, thankful, happy, adventurous, handsome, precious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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