Apple Butternut Squash Soup Just in Time for Thanksgiving!!

Ahhhhh, Thanksgiving is just around the corner.  For those of you who haven’t gone shopping for your Turkey Day feast, here is a great recipe for you.  And surprise surprise – no turkey here.  I enjoy the fixins but not any of that fake turkey stuff.  Staying away from the over processed products as much as I can.  I have my weaknesses (fakin), but I can do without the other “look like meat” products. 

Add this great Apple Butternut Squash Soup with the special ingredient of red lentils.  When the red lentils are pureed with the soup you can’t even tell they are in there.  Plus, they don’t need to be soaked because they are so small.  By roasting the squash instead of boiling it, a layer of complexity and a sweet caramelization develops.

This soup is chock full of nutrients and a great cold buster.  Butternut squash is super high in Vitamin A and pretty substantial in Vitamin C, Manganese, and Potassium.  It is also a good source of Vitamin E, bunch of B’s, Calcium and Magnesium.  The apples add even more Vitamin C and fiber.  Red lentils add more fiber, protein, Folate, Iron, Copper, and Manganese.  Ginger is great for digestion, cold prevention, migraine relief, and pain and inflammation.  Nutmeg is good for brain stimulation, pain relief, indigestion and cleansing.  I didn’t know this soup was so beneficial!!!

Also check out our previous blogs for additional information and recipes for the fall:

Gotta Love Them Apples!

Beans Beans Glorious Beans

MoreSquash and Pumpkin Ideas

Eating What’s in Season

Grab the ingredients at the grocery store when you go out and give your friends and family a treat for Thanksgiving!!

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Apple Butternut Squash Soup

Olive Oil Sprayer

1t Olive oil

2 Apples, medium, chopped, peeled optional

3/4c Onions, chopped

1t Ginger, fresh grated

1/2t Nutmeg

1/4t Ground red pepper

2c Vegetable broth

6c Water

1c Red lentils

3c Butternut squash, 1” cubes, peeled optional

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400F.  Spray a baking sheet with the olive oil and place the cubed butternut squash in a single layer.  Spray with more olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss.  Roast for about 30 minutes tossing after 15 minutes.

While the squash is roasting, prepare the remaining ingredients.  Add 1 t olive oil to pot.  Add the chopped onions and apples.  When soft, add nutmeg, ginger, and red pepper.  Stir.  Wait a minute or so until you can smell the spices come alive and fragrant.  Add broth, lentils and water.  Simmer for 30 minutes. 

Remove squash from oven and add to simmering soup.  Cook for an additional 10 minutes.  Puree in blender or using a stick blender.  Be careful as the soup is HOT.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Garnish with fresh ginger and nutmeg.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 45 minutes

Serves 8, about 1 cup each

Level of difficulty - Intermediate.

3 pp

Printable Apple Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

Gotta Love Them Apples!

Feel the soft supple skin.  Is it firm to the touch or does it have some give?  Smell the sweet fragrance.  Gently bring it up to your mouth, touch it to your lips, open wide and one healthy bite into the sweet flesh until the juice starts to slide down your hand.  Slowly pull it away.  Savor the taste as you slowly chew on the crisp flesh of that delicious Winesap apple.  The ever sensual apple.

There are over 7,500 apple varieties.  Coming back to the East Coast from California, there were so many more apple varieties than I remember from my childhood growing up here.  Many exciting varietals are actually hybrids – Jonagold is a cross between Jonathan and Golden Delicious, Empire is a cross between the Red Delicious and McIntosh, and the Mitsu (Crispin) is a cross between Golden Delicious and Indu.  Who knew?

 

Apples can be a combination of sweet and tart and a spectrum from crisp to mealy.  Ever have a spicy apple?  Try a Winesap.

Apples are primarily a late summer/fall harvest fruit but do harvest into November especially for winter varieties like Mitsu, Fuji, Northern Spy, Red Delicious, and Granny Smith.   

When choosing the right apple, make sure there are no bruises.  The ones you get in a regular supermarket are the prettiest of the bunch often waxed to perfection.  Don't be afraid of the ones that are a little less shiny and raw looking.  Less tampering with mother nature.  I think the naked Winesaps pictured above are beautiful.

General rule of thumb is to store in a dark cool place.   Ever use an apple in a paper bag to ripen other fruits and vegetables?  Well it is a great trick when you need them to ripen faster.  Apples give off ethylene gas which speeds the ripening.  So use caution leaving apples in your fruit crisper in the fridge.  Keep the apple in a plastic bag in the drawer.

Apples are a good source of fiber and vitamin C.

Which apples do you like to use for what purpose?  And if you really feel adventurous – Why?  Please comment on That’s Vegetarian’s Blog below!

Apple Crisp

Topping

1c        Quick Rolled Oats                1T     Flax seed meal 

1/3c     Brown sugar                          1t     Cinnamon

1/2c     Whole wheat flour                1/2t  Nutmeg (Or 1-1/2t Pumpkin pie spice)

1/4c     Butter or margarine (VEGAN)

Filling

8c        Apples (approx 8 medium apples), halved then sliced*

Juice from one lemon                    1T     White flour

1t         Cinnamon                            1/4c  Maple syrup

Spray  8” pie dish with vegetable oil.  Set aside.  (Or use ramekins or lined cupcake tins for individual servings)  Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine sliced apples, lemon juice, white flour, cinnamon, and maple syrup.  Pour into prepared pie dish.

In same bowl, mix dry ingredients of topping  - oats, brown sugar, flour, flax meal, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Add cold butter (or margarine) and mush together with hands until crumbly.  Spread evenly over filling.

Bake for 30 minutes or until filling is soft when pierced with a fork.  If topping gets too dark, cover with foil.

* Substitute pears, plums, peaches, rhubarb, berries, etc or a combination of a few.

Prep Time: 20 min

Bake Time: 30 min

Serves 8

7ppv

Apple Crisp Printable Recipe

http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/seasonalcooking/farmtotable/visualguideapples

http://www.pickyourown.org/apples.htm

http://www.foodsubs.com/Apples.html

http://www.joyofbaking.com/apples.html

http://www.paulusorchards.com/apple_faq.htm

http://www.orangepippin.com/apples/