Here’s a recipe I originally posted October 26th, 2011. I’ve been craving it and didn’t think it would hurt to re-share it with you all again :)
The changing colors of autumn always make me want to savor all of the season’s bounty of apples, pumpkins, and most importantly – squash! I had a counter full of Butternut squash after my last trip to the farm stand and no idea what to do with it. That is until I remembered the delicious Butternut Squash Soup my cousin and I sampled at last year‘s taste of Home Cooking School. I combined that recipe with one I found in the latest issue of Woman’s Day and made it my own.
This slightly sweet, so creamy soup, will warm you up all the way down to your toes when the yummy goodness hits your mouth. Tell me what you think or if you have any other great recipes for winter squash, I still have 2 left, plus an acorn and spaghetti squash, to contend with ;) (added in 2011 — I have a whole basket of butternut and acorn squash to use up this year!)
- 3 Tbs. Butter
- 1 large Onion, chopped fine
- 2 large gala Apples, peeled, cored and chopped
- 8 - 12 c. Butternut Squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
- 1½" piece Ginger root, minced fine
- 1 tsp. Allspice
- 1 tsp. Nutmeg
- 1 tsp. dried thyme (or 1 Tbs fresh)
- 2 Bay Leaves
- ¼ c. Brown Sugar
- ½ tsp. Salt
- ¼ tsp. Fresh Ground Pepper
- 32 oz. Chicken Broth , low sodium
- 1 - 1½ c. Apple Cider
- ¾ c. Heavy Whipping Cream
- Fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
- 16½" slices of Baguette
- Fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
- For the soup, melt butter over med/high heat in a large pot. Add onion and apple, cook until very soft and onion is translucent.
- Into the pot, add butternut squash. Saute and stir five minutes until squash just starts to color.
- Stir in ginger, allspice, nutmeg, thyme, bay leaves, brown sugar, salt, pepper, 1 cup apple cider and 32 oz chicken broth. Bring to a good boil then reduce heat. Cover and simmer 20 - 25 minutes until squash is very soft. Cool mixture for 5 minutes.
- Using and immersion blender, puree soup until very smooth an no lumps remain, 2-5 minutes. If soup is too thick add up to ½ cup more apple cider. Blend in heavy cream starting with ½ cup and adding up to ¼ cup more if needed. Check seasoning and add more salt and pepper to taste.
- Add a sprinkle of Parmesan to each bowl as it's served.
- For Parmesan toasts place baguette slices on rack of toaster oven (or reg oven) and broil for 1 – 3 minutes until just coloring.
- Flip toasts over and place a generous sprinkle of fresh Parmesan cheese on top.
- Return to broiler for about another 2 minutes until cheese bubbles and turns golden.
- Serve soup with toasts on the side.
This soup holds well for several hours in a slow cooker set on low. I haven’t tried it yet, but I think it would also freeze well in single serve portions.
Variations
If you’d like to get fancy, instead of blending in the heavy cream, ladle pureed soup into serving bowls, then add a Tablespoon of heavy cream to center using a butter knife or wooden skewer to slightly swirl cream through puree. Add a tiny sprinkle of cinnamon on top and serve.
My rating: 5 : ★★★★★
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It looks delicious! In this time of the year we can find on the market all kind of pumpkins, so I will test this recipe soon!
Thank you!
I’m so glad I found your recipe. I made the recipe from the magazine and felt it was missing something. I got online to find reviews and suggestions and came across this. The addition of allspice, bayleaf, nutmeg, thyme, and brown sugar were exactly what this recipe needed! Thank you!
I am so happy that you liked it! I too thought the magazine’s version sounded bland and was happy to remember the recipe card from the cooking show. I think this combined the best of both :) Now I’m hungry for it again lol!
Oh my goodness! This sounds soooo yummie! Butternuts are my favourite pumpkins, I love their creamy taste so much! I will def. try this recipe! Thank you so much!
I sooooo have to try this! Thank you so much for postng this recipe!
This sounds amazing! I might be adding this to my Thanksgiving menu!