Direction Connection

I started with this recipe, which I found while searching for a recipe for apple soup — I remember that once my dad made soup that had apples in it, and I thought that was pretty cool. The recipe worked well as a starting point, but the soup still seemed bland when I got to the end of the recipe, so I made some additions. Below is what I wish I had done, and will do next time — this time around, I ended up adding a lot of the spices at the end.

Note: peeling and cutting the squash takes a while! Don’t think that you can do it while the pancetta is frying, because the pancetta requires a bit of attention. For this recipe, I think it’s best to prep everything before you start cooking any of it. Roasting or par boiling the squash first makes it easier to peel.

• olive oil
• 8 oz. pancetta (substitute smoked bacon if you can’t get pancetta)
• 6 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into chunks
• 3 medium onions, thinly sliced
• garlic chopped, to taste
• fresh thyme (lots — at least 4 T; use half as much dried thyme if you can’t get it fresh)
• freshly ground black pepper
• 3 to 4 T coriander
• 1/2 t nutmeg
• 1/4 t ground cloves
• 1/2 t turmeric
• lots of salt (3-4 tablespoons to start, more later probably)
• 4 apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
• 4 cup water
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• 1/2 cup brown sugar

Directions:

1. In a large pot, heat olive oil (about 1/4 cup) over moderate heat. Add the pancetta and cook about 4 minutes per side until golden brown. Remove and drain on a paper towel.
2. Add a little more oil to the oil still in the pot. Add the onions, garlic, salt and other spices, and cook 8 to 10 minutes over moderate heat until the onions are translucent, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the squash and a little more salt. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes.
4. Add the apples, broth, bouillon, water, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, covered, 20 to 30 minutes at least, until squash and apples are tender. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
5. Working in batches, puree the soup until smooth in a blender or food processor (it’s good to have a helper for this). Alternatively, use a handheld immersion blender to puree. Add the mixture back to the pot and bring to a simmer over moderate heat. Add the pancetta to the soup.
6. Serve hot with pancetta garnish.

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 29th, 2006 at 3:31 pm and is filed under Recipes, Soups and Stews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.