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!

Corn Chowder

It’s been quite awhile since my last post! Things at work have been busy, and I’ve also been busy doing things in the evening. I’ve been spending lots of time cooking, and I’ve even got a memory card full of pictures to upload, but I haven’t been finding the time lately to edit & upload my pictures and write posts! But this week I’m going to try to develop a bit of a schedule that I’ll be able to stick to for updating this blog. In the meantime, make sure to follow me on Instagram at myjerseykitchen (check out the sidebar at the right for a link).

Today I’m sharing a recipe that I have already made twice in the span of a few months. With the CSA I’ve been getting delicious soup, which means that I’ve had to come up with some creative ways to use it. I can only eat so much corn on the cob! This corn chowder was amazing and I highly recommend it.

Here’s how I cut my kernels off the cobs.

Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod
Serves: 9 1-cup servings
Time: about 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 5 green onions
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 celery stalks, chopped (optional but suggested)
• 1 large carrot, chopped (optional but suggested)
• 2 bell peppers (any color), seeds removed and chopped
• 4 small potatoes or 2 medium
• 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 3 ears of corn, kernels cut off. Save the empty cobs to use in the soup. (You can also use 2 cups frozen or canned corn.)
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 3 1/2 cups skim milk
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp. salt, plus more to taste, and black pepper to taste
• dash or pinch of cayenne pepper, depending on your spice tolerance

Directions:

1) Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic, cook for 2 or 3 minutes. Then add your celery and carrot, if using, plus your peppers and potatoes. Also add in the broth and your empty cobs (if you have them). Cook this until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.

2) In a bowl, whisk together the flour and milk, then add to your pot and stir to combine. Add your corn kernels, thyme, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Simmering away!

3) Remove empty cobs, if you used them. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.