Soup: Squash and Apple bisque
As many of you may have experienced during this trying pandemic time, we have a family friend who has come down with COVID-19. She is an active elderly lady who lives by herself. Immediately, my wife and I decided that we are going to make some food for her. Since it is now fall, I thought about squash and apple bisque with crostini. This a soup I have used in cooking competitions, special occasions and just for dinner. This soup has a great creamy balanced flavor.
Squash and Apple Bisque Ingredients
2 Butternut squash peeled and cubed
3 or 4 Granny Smith apples
2 quarts of chicken stock (homemade preferred, vegetable stock is a good substitute here)
1 bottle of white wine
1 pint of heavy cream
1 pint of half and half
3 to 4 sprigs of thyme
3 to 4 sprigs of sage
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 minced shallot
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
salt and pepper
Squash and apple soup preparation (45 minutes preparation and 1 hour cook time)
Set up your cutting board with a towel to begin vegetable preparation
Cutting board ready for vegetable preparation
On the cutting board peel and cube your butternut squash. For a foolproof technique for prepping the butternut squash, please refer to this post.
Cubing the peeled butternut squash
On the cutting board, dice the shallot. Please refer to the Tearless onion technique for dicing instructions.
Dicing the shallot
On the cutting board, dice garlic.
Dicing garlic
With an apple coring tool, cut the Granny Smith apples in wedges.
Removing the core and wedging the apple
With your knife, remove the apple skin.
Removing apple skin
In a large soup/stock pot, begin to heat your chicken stock.
Heating the chicken stock
In the soup pot, add the whole bottle of white wine.
Adding white wine to the stock
Once the stock and white wine begin to boil, add the cubed butternut squash.
Adding cubed butternut squash to stock and white wine mixture
Add your apples to the stock mixture.
Adding apples to the stock and white wine mixture
Add diced garlic to the stock mixture.
Adding garlic to the stock and white wine mixture
Add diced shallot to the stock mixture.
Adding diced shallot to stock and white wine mixture
Add sprigs of thyme to the stock mixture.
Adding thyme sprigs to stock and white wine mixture
Now cover the soup pot and let simmer for 40-45 minutes or until the squash is fork tender. Once is the squash is fork tender, using a hand emersion blender, combine all ingredients into a smooth yellow/orange liquid.
After 40 minutes of cooking, squash is fork tender
Begin blending the stock mixture.
Blending stock and vegetables mixture until combined and smooth
If you don’t have an emersion blender, you can let the soup cool, then use a regular blender. Once the liquid is smooth and uniform in color, then begin to add the heavy cream and half and half.
Adding heavy cream and half and half to the mixture
The cream can be added while the mixture is in your blender. Once the cream is added to the mixture, use the emersion blender to mix thoroughly.
Blending the creamed soup.
Add the nutmeg, cumin and cinnamon to the creamed soup.
Grinding nutmeg into the soup
In a skillet over medium heat, add tablespoon of olive oil and 8 sage leaves. When they begin to sizzle and turn color, remove with a pair of tongs.
Squash and apple bisque garnished with crispy sage and crostini
To make the crostini, cut a fresh French loaf into 1 inch pieces, brush on olive oil and sprinkle some salt and pepper. Let bread rest for 10 minutes, then bake in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Bon Appetit!