Is your countertop, final CSA box of produce or farmers’ market piled high with butternut squash? Perfect. Our nutritious and easy-to-make Golden Squash and Sweet Potato Soup features vegetables and fruits that ripen at about the same time—a real bonus when you’re trying to eat seasonally and locally.
Rumor has it that that a variation of this soup was “on special” at the Brocach Irish Pub and Restaurant located off Capitol Square in Madison, Wis., but the chef wouldn’t reveal his secret recipe. That didn’t stop John’s mom, Susan, from reworking the soup until she came up with the delicious and hearty recipe below.
Freeze half your batch to savor this soup throughout the winter. By freezing our soups, we manage to eat locally year-round, despite the fact that barely anything grows in our harsh Midwestern climate four months out of the year.
Recipe Golden Squash and Sweet Potato Soup
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash
- 2 T. olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion, quartered
- 3 Granny Smith (sour) apples, cored with skins removed
- 3 medium sweet potatoes
- 5 cups water
- 3 tsp. vegetable stock
- 1/2 tsp. thyme, crushed
- 1/2 tsp. rosemary
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 6 T. sour cream
- 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
On cooking sheet, place two squash halves cut side down. Place sweet potatoes, pierced with a fork to allow steam to escape, on same cooking sheet. In a separate 8×8 pan, spread olive oil and add onion and apples. Bake all together for about 40 minutes.
Remove items from oven, and set aside to cool. Scoop out seeds from squash and discard seeds, then scoop out flesh into bowl and discard skin. Scoop out sweet potatoes into bowl with squash and discard skins. Add onion and apple. In a food processor, process the squash, sweet potatoes, onion and apples until smooth.
Place mixture into large soup pot and add water, vegetable stock, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Warm over medium-low heat until hot enough for serving, about 20 minutes. Avoid burning soup by stirring occasionally.
Serve immediately with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg.
