Meatless Monday: Curried Apple Butternut Squash Soup

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It’s soup season! Especially on a day like today. I haven’t actually seen much rain for the past few days but since Saturday Brooklyn has been chilly and raw. The kind of weather that even though it’s not really that cold outside, the dampness gets inside of you and your bones feel cold. Plus it’s just sad and depressing! It’s the holidays people! I don’t need a white Christmas, but a rainy one just won’t do.

Soup was definitely in order. Did I mention I brought home 75lbs of apples when we went apple picking? In early October. Yup, we still have 5-6 pounds left. It doesn’t help that I also tend to pick up a few more every other week or so at the market. So there is a chance our original apples are gone. I guess we’ll never really know. Luckily apples seem to last forever as long as they’re stored in the crisper. But still, it’s hard to fit much other stuff in there with all the apples rolling around. I was in the mood for butternut squash soup. Always the same, heated with a little curry. But I was in the mood for something different. And apples were on my brain. The apple and squash flavors worked so good on my dinner party salad, I figured why not. It added a bit of softness to the still heavily spiced curry dish.

Curried Apple Butternut Squash Soup (Makes A LOT–great for freezing!)

1 tbsp butter
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2lbs apples, peeled, cored and chopped (mixed like Jonagold, Winesap, Mac or Cortland)
4 c vegetable broth, divided
4 c pureed butternut squash
2 tbsp curry (more if you really want to kick up the heat!)
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp coriander
salt and pepper to taste

In a large dutch oven, melt butter over high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until translucent, 4-5 minutes. Add apples and continue to cook for 2 minutes.

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Add two cups vegetable broth and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for about 20 minutes or until apples are very soft.

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Puree the mixture, either with an immersion blender (so easy!) or in batches with a food processor. Return puree to dutch oven and stir in butternut squash puree. At this point the soup will be pretty thick. Add some or all of the remaining broth, depending on how thick you like your soup. I prefer it to be a bit thinner and add the whole amount.

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Add spices, salt and pepper and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes until fully heated through. Ladle into adorable little soup bowls (mandatory) and serve hot. Freeze left overs in quart sized containers for up to 6 months. Defrost in an adequately sized saucepan over low heat, adding extra vegetable broth or water if necessary.

BONUS: Just saw this on Food Network. Garnish with a bit of toasted coconut. Never tried but sounds amazing!