butternut squash soup.

since it was (hopefully) the last cold weekend of the winter, i decided to make a soup to last all weekend (and well into this week). It’s healthy, hearty and delicious!

I got the recipe in the fall 2014 bon Appétit holiday entertaining magazine. I have been using that issue to making holiday dinners for the last two years – it’s full of great, easy recipes.

Oh this one also has bacon on top so how could you not love it?

3 slices of bacon, finely chopped

2 celery ribs, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

¼ tsp cinnamon

¾ lb boiling potatoes

2 medium Granny Smith apples (about ¾ lb)

1 ½ b butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into ½” pieces (4 cups)

2 cups low-sodium chicken stock or brother

salt

black pepper

sour cream

-       Cook bacon in a pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, then transfer to paper towels to drain, reserving 2 Tbsp fat in pot. (Add vegetable oil if needed.)

-       Cook celery, carrot, and onion in fat in pot over low heat, covered, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, 10-12 minutes. Add cinnamon; cook, uncovered, stirring, 1 minute.

-       Meanwhile, peel and coarsely chop potatoes. Peel and core 1 apple, coarsely chop.

-       Stir squash, potato, apple, stock, 2 cups water, 1 tsp salt, and ½ tsp pepper into onion mixture; simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, 15-20 minutes.

-       Puree soup in batches then heat in cleaned pot over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. (Add ½ cup water to thin, if necessary.)

-       While soup is heating, cut enough of remaining apple into matchsticks to equal about ½ cup. Serve soup topped with sour cream, bacon, and apple matchsticks.

Oh and did I mention it's also good cold like a gazpacho (if you can find squash in the summer that is...). enjoy! 

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