Butternut Squash Apple Soup With Chestnuts Food

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:

• Warm the butter, olive oil, onions, and curry powder in a large stockpot uncovered over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the onions are tender. Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot.
• Peel the squash, cut in half, and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into chunks. Peel, quarter, and core the apples. Cut into chunks.
• Add the squash, apples, salt, pepper, and 2 cups of water to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, until the squash and apples are very soft. Process the soup through a food mill fitted with a large blade, or puree it coarsely in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade.
• Pour the soup back into the pot. Add the apple cider or juice and enough water to make the soup the consistency you like; it should be slightly sweet and quite thick. Check the salt and pepper and serve hot.

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

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.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP WITH CHESTNUTS

Steps:

• Cook shallots, carrot, celery, tomatoes, thyme, and bay leaf in oil in a 4- to 5-quart heavy pot over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes.
• Add squash, water, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and simmer, covered, until squash is very tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Discard thyme and bay leaf.
• Purée soup in batches in a blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). Thin soup if desired and season with salt and pepper.
• Ladle soup over chestnuts in bowls.

SLOW-COOKER BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion; saute until tender, 4-5 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Transfer to a 6-qt. slow cooker. Add next 5 ingredients and 5 cups broth to slow cooker. Cook, covered, on low until vegetables are soft, 6-8 hours., Puree soup using an immersion blender. Or cool slightly and puree soup in batches in a blender; return to slow cooker. Stir in additional broth to reach desired consistency; heat through. If desired, top servings with sour cream. Freeze option: Freeze cooled soup in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a saucepan, stirring occasionally and adding a little broth if necessary.

APPLE BUTTERNUT SOUP

Steps:

• In a large saucepan coated with cooking spray, cook and stir onion in butter over medium heat until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add the squash, broth, apple, water, thyme and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until squash is tender. Cool slightly. , In a blender, process soup in batches until smooth. Return all to the pan; stir in cream and heat through (do not boil).

BUTTERNUT SQUASH & APPLE SOUP WITH CHESTNUTS

Steps:

• ROASTING CHESTNUTS
• Using a small, sharp knife or a chestnut knife, score, or shallowly cut, an X on one side of each nut. Be careful not to cut through the nutmeat.
• To roast the chestnuts in the oven: Lay the nuts in a single layer on an ungreased baking sheet, and roast in a 350°F oven until the nuts are fragrant and the scored portions begin to separate from the shells, 15 to 20 minutes. (If you're going to eat the chestnuts plain, increase the heat to 400°F and bake until the shells give slightly when pressed with oven mitt-protected fingers.)
• To roast the chestnuts in a chestnut pan: Heat the pan over medium-low heat and add the chestnuts. Cook, tossing the chestnuts frequently, until the shells crack and the chestnuts are cooked through, 30 to 35 minutes over a gas flame burner, 35 to 40 minutes over an electric or conduction burner.
• Transfer the nuts to a platter or heatproof surface and cover with a damp kitchen towel to keep them warm.
• 5. Using a kitchen towel or pot holder, pick up each nut and, with your fingers or the knife, peel back the scored X. Peel off the hard outer shell and the thin, beige, soft inner skin. Discard any nuts that, once peeled, look dried out.
• Eat the chestnuts immediately or use as directed in a recipe.
• SOUP.
• In a small stockpot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and apples and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in the butternut squash puree, 2 1/2 cups of the stock, the bay leaf and the 2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and discard.
• Using an immersion blender, puree the soup in the pot until smooth. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve set over a clean stockpot. Stir in the cream and add more stock to reach the desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Reheat the soup gently to serving temperature.
• Ladle the soup into warmed bowls. Garnish each serving with a swirl of whipped cream and sprinkle with chestnuts. Serve immediately. Serves 6.
• Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.