Roasted Butternut Chowder with Apples and Bacon

Perfect Autumn recipe, Mark Bittman's Roasted Butternut Chowder with Apples and Bacon.

Source
Mark Bittman, New York Times Columnist, on the Today Show


Ingredients

• 1 Butternut squash (1 1/2 lbs.), peeled, seeded and cut into cubes
• 1 large Onion, chopped
• 2 large Apples, peeled, cored and chopped
• 4 slices Bacon, chopped
• 2 tbsp. Garlic, minced
• To taste, Salt and Pepper
• 3 tbsp. Olive oil
• 1 tbsp. fresh Sage (1 tsp. dried)
• 1/2 cup dry white Wine or water
• 6 cups chicken or vegetable Broth

Equipment

• Knife
• Cutting board
• Apple peeler
• Roasting pan or deep baking sheet
• Large pot or Dutch oven
• Emulsion blender

Prep

• Peel, seed and cube squash

• Chop onion

Peel, core and chop apples

• Chop bacon

• Mince garlic

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Roast

• Spread the squash, onion, apples, bacon and garlic in a roasting pan or deep baking sheet

• Sprinkle with salt and pepper

• Drizzle with oil

• Roast, stirring occasionally, until tender and browned and the bacon is crisp, about 45 minutes

• Remove from oven

Cook Soup

• Add the sage and white wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up all the browned bits from the pan

• Transfer the contents to a large pot or Dutch oven

• Set over medium heat
• Add the stock

• Cook until the squash, onion and apples break apart and thicken and flavor the broth, about 25 minutes
• Puree with an emulsion blender

• Serve

Definitely the most flavorful butternut squash soup I've had, although the bacon made it taste a bit like pea soup. Maybe it was the kind of bacon I used, but of course I threw away the package so I'm not sure if that was it or not. Either way, a warm and nutritious meal for the Fall!