Butternut Squash Soup

This recipe is adapted from Ina Garten's Butternut Squash and Apple Soup.  We've made quite a few changes and additions so if you are interested in the original recipe please go here.  Nanci and I made this soup of our last catering event and we served it in small 3 oz espesso coffee cups with a piece of Rosemary Biscotti with Dried Cranberries.  The soup is amazing on it's own and I love serving it in a cup for my guests to make drinking soup so much easier and portable.  Our sister, Susan usually makes this soup for Thanksgiving (minus the cream because she's kosher) and it's always a huge hit!  Last year we served it with Karen's mini cranberry muffins but this year we are serving the biscotti.

**NOTE -  We do not suggest that you serve the biscotti in the soup as pictured above.  The hot soup softens the biscotti very quickly and the cookie ends up breaking off in the bottom of the soup cup which makes it very difficult to drink if you don't have a spoon! 

It does make for a pretty picture though.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons good olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 tablespoon mild curry powder

1 teaspoon cumin

2 large butternut squash

2 tablespoons honey

2 large sweet apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 1/2 - 3 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup heavy cream

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Split butternut squash in half, scoop out seeds.  Drizzle olive oil over the inside of the butternut squash, sprinkle with salt and pepper and then drizzle with honey.  Place face down (skin side up) on a lined  baking sheet and roast in oven for about 35-40 minutes.  In a large stock pot add olive oil and butter, heat until melted and add in onions, curry powder and cumin.  Cook over low heat stirring often about 15-20 minutes until onions become soft.  Remove butternut squash from oven and carefully scoop out flesh and add to the stock pot with the onions.  Next add apples and 2 cups of chicken stock, stir and bring to a boil. Cover and let cook over medium/low heat for about 30-40 minutes.  Uncover and puree using an immersion blender.  Add an additional 1/2 cup - 1 cup of chicken stock and stir to combine.  Lastly add heavy cream, stir to combine.  Serve hot.

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