Soup. I love it, but obviously it’s best when the temperatures outside start dipping…and last night it was windy and chilly when I got home from work. I came up with this on-the-fly recipe because I love any type of squash or pumpkin and I decided to add a little bit of fruit to enhance the flavor a bit. It’s subtle, but so good.

I used butternut squash in this recipe, purchased already cut into huge chunks, as well as a couple of gala apples; they lend a bit of a sweet taste and are a firmer apple…I wanted the texture. From start to finish this took about an hour without a ton of prep time.

Soup Ingredients

 

  • 1 onion (I used vidalia), chopped
  • 3 lbs squash, peeled & cubed (I used butternut)
  • 2 apples (I used gala)
  • 1 t cumin
  • 2 c water
  • 1 carton chicken broth (32 oz)
  • 1 T marjoram (dried)
  • 1 T sage (dried)
  • 1 can coconut milk (13.5 oz)
  • Salt & pepper to taste

The Steps

Using a large stockpot, sauté onion in approximately 2 T olive oil (or butter), until carmelized. I also added cumin at this point.

Add cubed squash and peeled, chopped apples to cooked onion, stirring a bit to brown all of the edges.

Pour the water and chicken broth into the pot. At this point add salt and pepper (I used about 1 T salt and 1.5 T coarse pepper) and herbs. Bring to a boil, then cover and cook on lower heat until chunks are tender—about 15-20 minutes.

Once the squash and apples are tender, you’re ready to smooth out the texture. Using an immersion blender, blend cooked items until chunks are pretty much gone.

Once it’s as smooth as you’d like, incorporate the coconut milk; blend and let the soup sit on low or no heat (covered) for about 5 minutes. This allows the coconut milk to really mix with the other flavors.

TO SERVE—you can add a dollap of sour cream, or a parmesan crisp on top of each bowl or sprinkle some pumpkin seeds for texture. I had mine plain with a grilled ham & cheese sandwich. Delish.

Substitutions

There are so many variables to this, depending upon what you have on hand:

  • Sweet potato or pumpkin in place of the squash, maybe some carrot as well
  • Incorporate coconut cream (instead of milk) and some curry paste for a rich spin on this soup
  • Pear can be used instead of apple
  • Crumbled bacon can be added with the onion as it’s sauteed
  • Jalapeno slices can be added with the onion for a little bit of heat

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