Today's cooler, wet weather puts me in the mood for soup. This time of year I love to make a big batch of soup on the weekends and partake of it all week long. Today I decided to make Butternut Squash and Apple soup. This is one of my favorites and very, very simple. You can spice it two ways for variation. Today I added cinnamon and ginger, but if you are in the mood for some spice you can omit the cinnamon and add curry powder instead. This soup is great served along side a large green salad with diced chicken and chopped apples on top. The beauty of this soup is that it's easy to make, has few ingredients and is gluten and dairy free (for those of you experimenting or needing to omit these.) Enjoy!
1 small to medium Butternut squash
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 Cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 large carrot
1/2 yellow onion
2 stalks celery
2 cloves garlic
3 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 Tbl Tamari (wheat free soy sauce)
Spice options:
For a sweeter taste add 2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp ginger
For a spicy option: add 1 Tbl no salt curry powder and 1/2 tsp ginger
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place squash, flesh side down in a glass dish and add 1/4" water. Bake in oven for 45-50 minutes until squash is soft. When done, let squash sit until it cools off, then scoop out flesh, discarding the skin.
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, saute garlic, onion, carrot and celery in oil until soft. Add 1/2 cup applesauce and spices of your choice. Continue to saute briefly until fragrant. Add scooped out squash to pan and chicken broth. Bring to boil, then simmer for 15 - 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat and let cool. Pour soup into a blender (may have to do in batches depending on the size of your blender) and puree until it reaches your desired consistency. Return to pan to heat and serve, or place in glass bowl to store in refrigerator. Makes a relatively thick soup, to thin it, just add more chicken broth.
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