Fall Favorites: Butternut Squash and Apples

I love butternut squash.  Along with apple, it's one of my favorite fall flavors.  Colby and I just went to the farmers market this morning to pick up some (amazing) bacon from Peach Creek Farms, sourdough from Texas French Bread, and some butternut squash because I can't get enough of it.

I know that I've posted two other butternut squash soup recipes, but this one combines techniques from both recipes and comes out tasting rich and flavorful.

roasted butternut squash and apple soup

2 lbs butternut squash
1 large carrot, diced
1 large celery, diced
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
1/4 c pine nuts
1 lb apples, peeled and diced (I used a SweeTango, but any sweet apple would do well)
32 oz stock (I used chicken stock, but vegetable stock also works)
1 t ground ginger or 1/2 t nutmeg
1 T brown sugar
1/2 t soy sauce
salt+pepper
extra virgin olive oil

Peel and cube the butternut squash, toss with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and roast in a 400 F oven until the squash is easily pierced.  Depending on how small the cubes are, this can take anywhere from 20-40ish minutes.  Just keep checking.  I usually do this the day before I make the soup and put the squash the oven while I'm cooking other things.

In a large stock pot or dutch oven, heat a couple tbsps of evoo.  I kind of just eyeball it.  Add in the celery, carrots, and onions along with a big pinch of salt and saute until everything is softened. (Usually 5-10 minutes).  I tend to brown the onions to add an extra layer of flavor.

Make a well in the center of the pot and add in the pine nuts, careful to stir the nuts around so that they don't burn, but brown a bit.  (Usually a few minutes, but just watch it.)

Add in the apples and ginger and mix everything up.  Let the apples soften, but not turn to mush.  (~5 minutes)

Add in squash, chicken stock, brown sugar, and soy sauce and emulsify everything in the pot until smooth.

Taste for seasoning and adjust levels of salt and pepper.

The soup ends up tasting of both apples and butternut squash since the apples aren't cooked to mush.  The soy sauce helps with depth of flavor and is a really sneaky tasty way to adjust the seasoning. This is a great soup to make ahead of time because the flavors mesh together in the fridge.