Falling leaves, hot apple cider, static shock from car doors... Ahhhh, all unmistakable signs of fall.
But my favorite's gotta be the return of butternut squash (and fig, and sweet potato... yum...). So I'm quite excited to whip out this sensible, low-fat, ginger-scented butternut squash soup recipe and make myself a yummy pot to kick those winter blues.
By the way, I don't cook a whole lot, and usually stay away from recipes that involve complexities such as transferring scalding liquid from a pot to a blender. But trust me, this one's worth it.
Ingredients:
1.5 tbs grated ginger root
1 medium leek, white part only, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup frozen apple juice concentrate (undiluted)
3 large golden delicious apples, peeled, cored and cut into eighths
3 lbs butternut squash, boiled x 5 min for easy peeling, cut/seeded/chunked
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup fat-free half and half
Instructions:
(1) Combine ginger, leek and apple concentrate in large pot, cover and simmer till leeks are tender, approx. 10 min.
(2) Add apples, squash, and 1 cup of broth, cover and simmer till very tender, approx. an hour.
(3) Puree soup (use a hand-held immersion blender if you're lucky enough to have one, or transfer in small batches to blender and be careful not to cook your hands), return to pot (make sure you rinse the blender with some of the chicken broth so you don't waste any last bit of it).
(4) Lick squash paste off fingers (or let your lucky doggie who's been stuck to your side for the last 2 hours do the honor).
(5) Add remaining 3 cups of broth (or however much you have after rinsing blender), salt and pepper, simmer till heated through x about 10 min.
(6) Turn off heat, stir in half and half.
(7) Scoop yourself a huge bowl and slurrrrrp it up.
Enjoy and Happy Friday!
