Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

This recipe is THE reason I bought my immersion blender! I first got the recipe from my dear friend Kaitlin. We made it together back in 2012. I’m pretty sure I went home that night and ordered my immersion blender from Amazon before I did anything else!! (I have this one, by the way! Cheap and it works great!) I have made this soup at least once every fall since then!

When Kaitlin and I made this recipe together, I don’t think I had ever had butternut squash before. I was AMAZED at how delicious it is! This recipe is still my favorite one for butternut squash soup. The combination of the apples and the butternut squash is great. And how excited was I when I found apples, butternut squash, and leeks in my CSA box??? SO excited! Plus, I already had cider from making applesauce. It was a sign that I just had to make my first batch of the season. I highly recommend it!

Serves: about 8 1-cup servings

Time: about 45 minutes to roast the squash, then about 45 minutes for the soup. Most of this is not active!

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (You can replace half of the butter with olive oil or coconut oil if you wish. I’ve done both. I’ve also just done a couple tablespoons instead of all 4.)
• 2 leeks, well washed and coarsely chopped (I have used onions when leeks weren’t around!)
• 2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
• 2 medium carrots, scrubbed and coarsely chopped
• 1 butternut squash (mine was kind of small for this batch, but it still worked okay. Medium is better!)
• 2 apples, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped
• 2 teaspoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary, or a heaping 1/2 tsp of dried (which is what I normally do, but if you have access to fresh rosemary definitely use it)
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup apple cider
• salt & pepper

Directions:

1) Prep the butternut squash: Carefully cut the squash in half and remove the seeds. Place in a baking dish or on a rimmed cookie sheet. Cover with foil and roast 35-40 minutes at 425 degrees until tender when pricked with a fork. This time mine took more like 45 minutes. Remove from the oven, let it cool and then scoop out the filling from the skin, discarding the rind. When I take mine out of the oven, that’s when I start the rest of the soup. By the time I’m ready to add the squash it’s basically cool enough to handle. If you have more time you can let it cool more.

2) Soup time! Melt the butter and/or oil in a large soup pot.  Add the leeks, celery and carrots. Cook over medium heat until the leeks are tender and very fragrant.  Add the squash, apples, rosemary, broth, and cider.  At this point you can also add a pinch of salt and some pepper. (You will season again to taste at the end.) Bring to a simmer and cook partially covered over low heat for about 30 minutes. At this point, an immersion blender comes in handy. It makes blending the soup SO easy. If you don’t have an immersion blender you can also carefully transfer the (slightly cooled) soup into a regular blender and blend, perhaps in batches. When the soup is as smooth as you like it, taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Enjoy!

PS This soup also freezes beautifully!