Butternut Squash Apple Soup Williams Sonoma Food

BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND APPLE SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Saute butternut squash, leeks, carrots, and celery in hot butter until vegetables are softened, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Stir apples, thyme, and sage into the squash mixture; pour in chicken stock and cider. Bring mixture to a simmer, reduce heat to low, cover pot with a lid, and cook until vegetables and apples are tender, about 30 minutes. Remove soup from heat and cool slightly, about 10 minutes.
• Pour soup into a blender no more than half full. Cover and hold lid down; pulse a few times before leaving on to blend. Puree in batches until smooth. Return mixture to pot and season with salt to taste. Garnish individual servings with crumbled bacon.

APPLE-BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to soften, about 4 minutes. Add squash, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes.
• Add apples, salt, cumin, coriander, ginger, cayenne, black pepper, stock, and the water (just enough to cover). Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook until vegetables are very soft, about 30 minutes.
• Puree in batches in a food processor or blender until smooth, and return to saucepan. Heat over low, thinning with more water if necessary. To serve, ladle into shallow bowls; garnish with diced apples, jalapeno slices, and sour cream if desired.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND APPLE SOUP

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat, and cook until it turns nut brown. Add the leeks and cook until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and saute briefly to release its fragrance.
• Add the squash and apples, raise the heat to high, and cook, stirring, until the vegetables begin to caramelize, about 5 minutes. Stir in the Toasted Spice Rub and cook briefly to toast it, about 1 minute.
• Add the stock or broth-water mixture, bring to a simmer, and partially cover. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the squash and apples are tender, about 40 minutes.
• Transfer in batches to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Return to the pot, reheat to serving temperature, and season with salt.
• Divide the soup among warmed bowls and garnish each portion with some of the walnuts, if using. Serve immediately.
• In a small heavy pan over medium heat, combine the fennel seeds, coriander seeds, and peppercorns. When the fennel turns light brown, work quickly. Turn on the exhaust fan, add the red pepper flakes, and toss, toss, toss, always under the fan. Immediately turn the spice mixture out onto a plate to cool. Put in a blender with the chili powder, salt, and cinnamon and blend until the spices are evenly ground. If you have a small spice mill or a coffee grinder dedicated to grinding spices, grind only the fennel, coriander, pepper, and chili flakes. Pour into a bowl and toss with the remaining ingredients.
• Yield: about 1 cup
• In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet, heat about 1-inch of oil to 350 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add walnuts and blanch for 30 seconds. Drain and transfer nuts to a medium bowl. While nuts are still hot and slightly wet, add confectioners' sugar and toss to coat nuts. Stir and toss until all the sugar has melted into the nuts; if bits of unmelted sugar remain on the nuts, they will not fry properly.
• Stir the nuts again before frying. Using a large slotted spoon, transfer a few nuts to the hot oil, allowing the foam to subside before adding another spoonful. (Otherwise, the oil could foam over and burn you.) Fry in small batches until the nuts are medium brown, about 45 seconds per batch; be careful not to overcook. Scatter on an unlined baking sheet to cool slightly.
• In a small bowl, stir together cayenne, cinnamon, a pinch of salt, and the pepper.
• While the nuts are still warm, transfer them to a bowl and sprinkle evenly with about half of the spice mix. Toss well to distribute the spices and then taste a nut. Add more spice mix, to taste, and toss well after each addition. When cool, pack in an airtight jar. They will keep at room temperature for at least 2 weeks.
• Yield: 4 cups

WILLIAMS-SONOMA WINTER SQUASH AND APPLE BISQUE

Steps:

• Peel and seed the butternut squash and cut into 2-inch chunks.
• Peel and core the apples and cut into 2-inch chunks.
• In a soup pot over medium-high heat, melt the butter.
• Saute the onion and shallots until softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add the apples and squash and cook until nicely coated, about 3 minutes longer.
• Add the stock and rosemary and bring to a simmer. Add the thyme.
• Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are very tender, about 25 minutes.
• Remove from the heat. Using a hand-held or standing blender, puree the soup until smooth.
• Stir in the half-and-half and season with salt and pepper.
• Reheat gently over medium-low heat.
• Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and garnish with the sour cream, using a fork to swirl a zig-zagged pattern.
• [you can garnish with leaves of rosemary and thyme].

WILLIAMS-SONOMA BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

Steps:

• Saute the vegetables. In a frying pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute longer.
• Cook the soup. Put the squash chunks in the slow cooker and sprinkle with the brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon white pepper. Pour the contents of the frying pan over the squash and add the broth. Cover and cook on the high-heat setting for 3 hours or the low-heat setting for 6 hours.
• Finish the soup. Using a blender or food processor, working in batches, process the squash mixture to a smooth puree. Return the soup to the slow cooker to keep warn until serving. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls, garnish with a dollop of the sour cream and chives (or parsley) and serve.