Butternut Apple Soup

It's still a little chilly out, it hasn't officially turned into spring yet so I'm feeling pretty good about posting this soup recipe. As you know, or maybe you don't, we have a dinner club thing that we do on the street that I live on.  It's just the ladies, no men allowed.  We leave our kids with the hubby's (or a babysitter) and we get away from it all with our neighbors.  We learn about each other and we pick up some great recipes at the same time.  

I first had this soup at some friends house when they invited us to join them on Thanksgiving Day.  Our husbands are both Airline Pilots so it's pretty common typical that we don't have family around us to celebrate this holiday.  That's one thing I love about the people in this industry, they are welcoming and big hearted.  Anyway, I was blown away by this soup.  I even got to take some of it home with me AND she gave me the recipe!  

When I found out that February's theme for dinner club was soup I knew exactly the one I was going to make. Not only do I love butternut squash but it has lots of underlying flavors that make it irresistible.  I hope I didn't mess up her recipe too much, she told me some of her tips and tricks when she makes it and I tried to remember them all.  Either way it was a success!

Creamy with undertones of the leek and apple.  Smooth and comforting.  I want some, right now.

Butternut Apple Soup
Recipe from Jean Lux

Ingredients

• 3 cups butternut squash, chopped
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup leek, chopped
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 1 granny smith apple, chopped
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1/3 heavy cream (optional)
• salt and white pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees
2. in a large roasting pan toss the peeled and seeded butternut squash cut into large chunks. Add the orange juice, brown sugar and the cinnamon stick.  Toss the butternut squash so that it is coated with the juice and sugar. 
3. Cover the roasting pan and bake for 1 hour or until the squash is tender. Discard the cinnamon stick. 
4. Drain the juice. 
5. In a heavy bottomed stock pot place 1/4 cup butter, leeks (white part only), onion and apple that has been peeled, cored and chopped. 
6. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until very tender. Do not allow to color. 
7. Add 4 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock and bring to a boil. 
8. Add squash but not the juice.  Cook for five minutes and add the cream if desired.  Simmer for about 5 minutes. 
9. Cool and puree in a blender until very smooth. 

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