butternut apple soup

butternut apple soup

• 2.05.2017

Note: This post has been written and sitting in my draft folder for a week. The pictures came out crummy and I kept thinking I would re-take them... and I didn't. So here they are in all their blurry glory.
A few weeks ago we decided over a group text chain to start a book club. We being my sister and my cousin. The group is very exclusive and small. I offered to cook dinner because clearly that would be a good role for me - and also leftovers for the week. However, after barely touching the book for two weeks I suddenly had about 18 hours to finish it. The time crunch affected how much energy I had to put towards an amazing meal.

When I was thinking about dinner, I was going at it with the lens of "what is also still in my freezer?". Answer = chopped butternut squash. This soup turned out fairly decent despite clearly being a smorgasbord of ingredients. It feels very healthy because there is no cream, salt, or other naughty things included. After serving it out, the soup did thicken a bit and honestly had the consistency of baby food. So before freezing my other portions, I added a little bit of chicken stock and reheated to blend the flavors together.

Reasons you should make this soup:

• Lots of veggies // If you have a goal to eat more veggies each day, this will help you do it. 
• FAST // I made this while speed-reading through my book club book. For some reason, this also felt a lot easier than other blended soups. 
• Toppings // A simple soup like this really requires toppings - like at a sundae bar. I whipped up some quick sourdough croutons but you could do so many things here like toasted pepitos, bread, or some kale chips. Honestly, I think you could also add in some rotisserie chicken if you had it on hand.

Here's how it goes.

1. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add squash and next 6 ingredients and cook 5 minutes. Add just enough broth to cover vegetables and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, covered, 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
2. Using a food processor or blender, carefully process soup and broth, in small batches, until smooth. Return pureed soup to pot and stir in additional until desired consistency is achieved. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Shopping List (adapted from this Food52 recipe)
extra virgin olive oil
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
3 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots

2 stalks celery, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger
6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
Salt and pepper, to taste