Apple & Butternut Squash Soup

I was excited to use my new bone broth for soup and thought butternut squash with apple would be just the ticket.

Recipes for this soup usually call for peeled and cubed butternut squash but I find it really hard to peel. Whenever I try it the peeler slips and I end up banging my knuckles on the cutting board or somehow injuring myself. Instead, I am a fan of cooking it first and then pulling off the skin. So that's how this recipe goes!

Ingredients:

1 large butternut squash
2 tbs butter
1 large onion
2 carrots
2 ribs of celery
2 apples
3 cups bone broth
2 cups water
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

Before making the soup you need to have some bone broth ready and you'll want to roast your squash...

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Slice the butternut squash in half and place cut side up on a baking sheet.
Cook from 40 mins to 1 hour, until tender.

Okay so I cut my squash before it cooled... you can see the steam! And I also have 1 and 1/2 squashes here because I had an extra 1/2 squash in the fridge and didn't want to waste it :)

Let the squash cool. I like to score it into cubes (don't cut through the skin), then peel the skin off the back of the cubes. Set your cubes aside.

(While my squash is baking I do the prep work for the rest of the soup.)

And on with the soup....

Put a large, heavy-bottomed pot on low heat. Add 2 tbs of butter.

Add chopped onion, carrot, celery. Stir into melted butter and cook med-low heat for approx. 5 mins.

Peel and chop apples and add to pot. Toss in cooked butternut squash.

Add bone broth and water and bring to a nice simmer. Let it cook for about 10 mins (longer if your sqaush wasn't roasted to the point of being soft).

Empty the pot into a blender if you have one large enough. If you have to blend in batches, empty the pot into a large bowl first. This will give you the chance to rinse out your pot.

Puree your soup in blender and put the puree back into the clean pot.

Turn the burner on low to heat the soup back up to desired temperature.

Now it's time to add the spices. I gave measurements as a guide, but you may want more or less of something. I like to add, taste, repeat as necessary.

Use a wire whisk to mix in the spices so they don't clump together.

Serve hot and enjoy.