Please, Miss, May I Have Some More?

If there is a poster-child for autumnal soups, perhaps it would be any variety created from Butternut squash.  We adapted M. Bittman’s recipe to make it a bit more veg-friendly (i.e. nixed the bacon and meaty broth).  This was my first foray into working with a raw Butternut squash, but found that my good vegetable peeler made quick and easy business of separating this tender treasure from its sturdy exterior.  Although we do not have a hand-held mixer, which many would feel is essential for soup-creation, we thoroughly enjoyed the hearty textures provided by spoon-crushing the roasted squash, apples, and onions against the heated sides of the stock-pot.  All at once rustic, buttery, comforting, and traditional, this soup made an ordinary evening feel like a holiday.  We recommend creating your own holiday around this soup – and toast it with a nice glass of dry white wine.  After all, you’ll have the rest of the bottle available after using just a smidge in the soup! Great pairing (and ingredient) = Pinot Grigio: Bela Sera ‘05, Maso Canali ‘08 or (Angela’s choice) Santa Margherita ‘09.

Roasted Butternut & Apple Chowder

Ingredients
1 small, Butternut squash (1 1/2-2 lbs.) peeled, seeded, + cubed
1 large onion
2 large apples; peeled, cored, + chopped
2T minced garlic
salt + pepper
3T olive oil
1T chopped fresh sage or 1t dried
1/2c dry, white wine
4-6c vegetable stock (to your preference)

Preparation
-Preheat oven to 400°
-Spread squash, onion, apples, + garlic in a deep roasting-pan or baking sheet
-Sprinkle with salt + pepper; drizzle with oil
-Roast until all tender, about 45 minutes (stir occasionally)
-Remove roasting pan from the oven
-Stir in sage + white wine; scrape up all of the browned (yummy) bits from the bottom and include in the mixture
-Transfer the contents of the pan to a large pot or Dutch oven + set it over medium heat
-Add stock + cook until squash, onion, + apples break apart/thicken/flavor the broth (about 25 minutes).  Use the back of a spoon, or handheld blender to break up the mixture.

Yield = 4-6