Tart & Spicy Butternut Squash Soup

It’s finally cool enough in California, at least once the sun goes down, to justify getting the stock pot out to make a hearty soup that can serve as dinner with a big salad & crusty bread that can then live on as a couple of workday lunches too!  Great for the wallet AND the waistline!  This soup is so rich, and has such depth of flavor, that it seems like a cheat meal, which is a plus during the non-stop holiday feast season.

Tart & Spicy Butternut Squash Soup

• 1  –  2 to 2+1/2 lb Butternut Squash (Peeled/Seeded/Chopped into about 1″ Cubes)
• 1  –  Large Granny Smith Apple (Cut into about 1″ Pieces – seeds/core/stem removed)
• 3  –  Large Ribs Celery Chopped
• 3  –  Carrots (Peeled/Chopped into about 1″ Pieces)
• 1  –  Medium Yellow Onion (Peeled/Chopped into about 1″ Pieces)
• 4  –  TBLS Butter
• 1  –  32 oz Container Organic Chicken Stock
• 1+1/2 Cups Water
• Freshly Grated Sea Salt (To Taste)
• Freshly Cracked Pepper (To Taste)
• Freshly Ground Nutmeg (1/4 tsp)
• Cinnamon (1/2 to 1 tsp)
• Cayenne Pepper (Pinch to 1/8th tsp)
• Chopped Parsley (if desired)

Melt the butter in a medium stockpot and add the onions, carrot and celery.  Sauté over low heat about 10 minutes.  When onions just start to brown, add the squash, apple, salt, pepper, chicken stock and water.  Turn the heat up to medium-high and bring just to a boil.  When bubbles appear at the edges of the pan, reduce heat to low.  Cover pan tightly and simmer soup for 45 minutes until squash is completely softened.

Remove soup from heat and either process soup until smooth using your blender (I use my Vitamix) and returning to the pan after processed or an immersion blender as shown in the video.

Once soup is smooth, add the Nutmeg, Cinnamon and Cayenne.  Adjust spices to taste.

I came across a video that uses the same technique I use to make my soup, with slightly different measurements, and it’s much prettier, so I’ll give the standard #ShoutOut and #HighFive to Simply Recipes for producing a great (and quick) video that I can also use to demonstrate how to assemble my soup!

I’ve already been remiss at keeping up with my blog, so not having to produce a video is a definite bonus! #ThisGirlLovesToEat