Recipe Swap: Butternut Squash & Apple Soup

Can I start raving about this recipe now? Wow. This soup is delicious. First off, it was really easy to put together. Basically you chop and drop,simmer,blend and serve. I really enjoy butternut squash in the winter and this soup gave me a new way to use it. I am usually not a fan of overly sweet dishes and I was afraid this would be sweet, but it surprisingly was not. The bacon helped cut the sweetness of the squash and cider. It added really great texture also. A big thank you to Colleen who supplied me with this amazing recipe. Check out her blog, Does not Cook Well with Others!

 As I said before, this soup is really easy to put together. It makes about 6-8 servings so this can feed one hungry family!A few hints before the recipe. Cut each of the veggies the same size that way they cook evenly. I purchased pre-peeled and chopped butternut squash. It saved me a ton of time and was not more money that buying a squash and doing it myself. I used Greek yogurt as a garnish. The tang was nice with the sweetness of the soup. Feel free to use sour cream also. I used an immersion blender to blend the veggies (literally one of my favorite kitchen tools) and it blended in less than three minutes. Easy cleanup too! I topped the soup with a drizzle of nice olive oil for a nice finishing touch! I used an awesome ginger and citrus olive oil I bought in Paris in December. It was awesome.Some nice additions to this soup may be jalapeno for some kick, garlic cloves, and a touch of cream for richness. Hope you guys enjoy the soup!TGIF!

Butternut Squash Apple Soup
Recipe from Epicurious.com

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon*, cut into ½-inch pieces
• 2 celery ribs, diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• ⅛ tsp nutmeg
• ¾ lb boiling potatoes, peeled and chopped (such as Yukon Gold, white potatoes or purple potatoes)
• 2 medium Granny Smith apples (about ¾ lb)
• 1 ½ lbs butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into ½-inch cubes
• 2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth*
• 1 cup apple cider
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• Low-fat sour cream, for garnish

Directions
 

1. Place a 6-quart sauce pot over medium heat, and cook bacon until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon, and reserve 2 tablespoons of the fat. Add vegetable oil if using lean bacon which doesn't yield enough fat. 
2. Add the celery, carrot and onion to the reserved fat in the pot, and cook, covered on medium-low heat for 10 minutes. While vegetables are cooking, peel, core and roughly chop one of the apples. 
3. Add the cinnamon and nutmeg to the vegetables, and cook, uncovered for one minute.
4. Add the squash, potatoes, the chopped apple, broth, cider, water, salt and pepper to the vegetables in the pot. and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, then simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes to 20 minutes, until vegetables are tender. 
5. While soup is simmering, thinly slice the remaining apple into matchsticks. Place in a bowl, cover with water and a generous splash of lemon juice. 
6. Puree soup in the pot using an immersion blender**, adding up to an additional ½-cup of water if soup is too thick. Season with additional salt and pepper if necessary. 
7. Ladle 1 cup of soup into a bowl, and garnish with a tablespoon of sour cream, some of the bacon, and a few apple matchsticks. Serve with crusty bread. 

* - To make this recipe vegetarian, omit the bacon, and cook the vegetables in garlic-infused olive oil, and sub vegetable broth for the chicken broth.

** - If you don't have an immersion blender, cool the vegetables and liquid to room temperature, and puree in a food processor or blender, in batches if necessary. Reheat in a clean sauce pot.