Everyone Loves Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

1 medium sized butternut squash

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and chopped

1 cup chopped onion

1 T olive oil

1 T butter

1 to 2 14-oz cans of chicken or vegetable broth

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

S&P to taste

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut squash in half length-wise, scoop out and discard the seeds, and generously sprinkle the cut side with salt and pepper. Lay squash cut side down on a non-stick baking sheet (spray it with Pam or lightly grease it with olive oil) and pierce squash all over with a fork or the tip of a knife. Rub a light coating of olive oil over the skin of the squash and roast for 45 minutes.

While the squash cooks, warm the olive oil and butter in a saute pan and cook apple and onion over medium heat until slightly soft - approximately 8 minutes.

Remove squash from oven and set aside until it is cool enough to handle. Remove the skin - it should come away relatively quickly but if not, scoop the flesh out with a spoon. In a blender, combine and puree the squash, apple, onion, and 1 can of broth until smooth. You'll probably need to do this in two shifts unless you have an absolutely enormous blender. If you need more liquid to get things moving, add more broth.

Once everything is pureed smooth, pour it into a pot over medium-low heat. Add nutmeg, stir, and taste. If it's too thick for your taste, add more broth. Also, add more S&P until it's seasoned the way you like it.

This soup is delicious as is, but tonight I attempted to step it up a notch by sprinkling some chopped freshly roasted chestnuts over the top prior to serving. I thought it would be a nice seasonal touch. It didn't hurt the dish, but it didn't really add anything either so I probably won't do that again. But it was nice to have the leftover chestnuts to munch on after dinner.

If you give this recipe a try, I'd love to hear how it turns out. Or, if you have your own tasty butternut squash soup recipe to share, please leave the details in a comment.