Butternut Squash Soup with Apple & Bacon

  

  

Blustery, breezy…bacony.  How do these go together?  With winter’s icy grip finally closing us in her grasp, strength is needed to withstand her chilly fingers.  Strength against the cold can come from foods such as squash, bacon and apple.  Bacon is savory, it is salty, it is smoky.  Energy can come from the hearty fall vegetables, nature filled with starch and vitamins.  Brightness can come from the apple, left over from autumn’s harvest.  Combining these three ingredients produces this wonderful butternut squash soup, which I prepared for Thanksgiving, and again this month.  Of the many ways to prepare butternut squash, this is one of the simplest, quickest and best.  You do not need to worry about steaming or roasting.  The secret to this soup from Fine Cooking October/November ’05 is the same as a good stew, or I should the secret to making a good stew into a great Beef Bourguignon, cooking in the first rendered bacon fat.  Browning the squash and mixing in some of the bacon along with apple give both a slightly savory and sweet taste to this soup.  Add sage for an additional layer of flavor.  Serves 6.

   

Ingredients:

6 thin slices of bacon or 3 thick slices, cut into ¼” strips

2 lbs butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into ½” dice (about 6 cups)

1 Granny Smith, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2” dice (about 1 cup)

1 tsp fresh sage, chopped

1 tsp salt

½ tsp ground salt

4 cups chicken broth

    

Directions:

In a large pot over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp.  Remove the bacon to a paper towel lined plate.  Pour off all but 2 tbsp of the bacon fat and increase the heat to medium high.  Add the squash and cook 6 minutes, stirring just once to allow the squash to brown.  Add the apple, sage, salt and pepper and cook another 4 minutes.  Add the broth, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom, and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook a further 6 to 8 minutes.  Turn off the heat and add half of the bacon bits.  Puree the soup with a stand blender, or food processor in batches.  Adjust seasoning as desired.  Serve the soup with remaining bacon bits on top.