Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

Fall has always been my favorite season. Even living in Los Angeles for the past 8 years, where “fall” is 75 and sunny, hasn’t sullies my memories of autumn. I grew up in the boonies and the leaves on our 20 acres of property would become a kaleidoscope of colors which I could stare at for hours on end. Riding my horse on our endless trails during fall season will always be in my top ten list of favorite things. Fall was harvest time for us and even though our garden of irises would be just ending, and the tomatoes would be finishing as well, all my favorite vegetables would be coming into season. Butternut squash is at the top of that list and it seems only appropriate that I kick off soup month with my absolute favorite go to recipe for butternut squash soup.

When I first started experimenting with this soup, I tried numerous variations of flavors and methods which to cook the squash. I found simmering it in the pan with the onions and apples didn’t bring out the deep flavor of the squash and it became overpowered by the apple flavor. Roasting any kind of vegetable at high heat is, in my opinion, is the most effective way to bring out the most flavor in vegetables. The high heat causes caramelization and brings out the sweetness of the product. I also tried a few different spices in the soup, cumin, curry powder and I once added roasted garlic as well. While these additions were not bad at all, I found the simpler I kept it, the more flavorful it was, concentrating all the taste buds on the power of the squash. Simplicity always wins, it seems.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into large chunks
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil, divided
Kosher salt
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored and cut into small chunks
¼ cup dry white wine
1-2 cups of chicken stock
¼ cup of heavy cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place squash on rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tbs olive oil and ½ tsp salt. Toss to evenly coat. Bake for approximately 30-40 minutes, until squash is fork tender and browned on bottom side. Set aside.
In a large heavy bottomed saucepan, set over medium heat, add remaining tbs olive oil, onion and apple. Stir occasionally, until onions just start to brown. Add wine and stir, using a wooden spoon to scrape the bits from the bottom of the pan. Turn heat to low, cover and cook until apples are softened, about 15 minutes. Add 1 cup of stock and squash to pan and cook 1 minute longer. Using either an immersion blender if you have it, or a regular blender, puree soup, adding stock as needed to achieve desired consistency. Return to pot, season to taste and stir in cream, reserving a Tbs to drizzle over the top. Serves 4.