My butternut squash soup recipe was originally inspired by an Apple Rutabaga Soup from Patrick O'Connell's Refined American Cuisine: The Inn at Little Washington
. According to Patrick O'Connell's recipe, a number of autumn vegetables such as rutabaga, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and carrots had to be cooked together with apples and then blended into a delicious soup. Although I did follow this recipe once or twice, I soon had to adjust the recipe because I could not always find rutabaga in the supermarket. In fact, over the years, I have made many different variations of the soup, often using whatever ingredients I had in the refrigerator at a time. As a result, my recipe now looks almost nothing like the original at all. Butternut squash became the main focus with apple being a supportive flavor.
Another highlight in my version is allspice. As I was measuring the ingredients to write up the recipe today, I looked at Patrick O'Connell's recipe to check how much allspice he uses and, to my surprise, discovered that he doesn't add any allspice at all. Apparently, this was my own addition, essential to the history of this soup at our house. When my daughter was two, she tried the butternut squash soup for the very first time and loved it. But she was suspicious of the little brown specks in her bowl. I told her it was a special spice and let her smell the allspice itself. Because of the brown color and a sweet aromatic smell, she named allspice a "chocolate spice" and the soup became known as the "chocolate spice soup", her all-time favorite.
As Patrick O'Connell describes in his cookbook, "this soup looks and tastes like liquid autumn". Enjoy!
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
4 cups butternut squash cubes
1 onion, chopped
2/3 cup baby carrots
1 cup apples, peeled, cut up in chunks
1/2 teaspoon allspice
3.5 cups chicken stock
Salt, Cayenne pepper to taste
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 cup cream
Directions: (6 servings)
In a large saucepan, melt butter. Add butternut squash, onion, and carrots and cook the vegetables for 5-8 minutes until the onions are translucent.
Add apples and allspice, mix well. Pour chicken stock over and season with salt to taste. Cook for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Let the vegetable stand, covered for at least 30 minutes or until ready to serve.
Blend well using immersion blender (can also use food processor or a regular blender). Strain back into a saucepan. Add maple syrup and cream and mix with an immersion blender.
Heat until the soup just starts to boil and serve immediately. Swirl cayenne pepper into each individual bowl.
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I would like to send this soup for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen.
I would like to thank Diana at A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa for the Tasty Award.
