| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr 40 min |
| Prep: | 40 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups sliced leeks, white parts only
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 6 cups peeled and roughly diced butternut squash
- 3 cups peeled and roughly diced apples
- 2 teaspoons Toasted Spice Rub, recipe follows
- 6 1/2 cups chicken stock or 2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans low-sodium chicken broth mixed with 3 cups water
- Sea salt, preferably gray salt
- 1 cup chopped Spiced Candied Walnuts, recipe follows, optional
- 1/4 cup fennel seeds
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup pure California chili powder (about 1-ounce)
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- Peanut or canola oil
- 4 cups walnut halves
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch salt, or more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat, and cook until it turns nut brown. Add the leeks and cook until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and saute briefly to release its fragrance.
- Add the squash and apples, raise the heat to high, and cook, stirring, until the vegetables begin to caramelize, about 5 minutes. Stir in the Toasted Spice Rub and cook briefly to toast it, about 1 minute.
- Add the stock or broth-water mixture, bring to a simmer, and partially cover. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the squash and apples are tender, about 40 minutes.
- Transfer in batches to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Return to the pot, reheat to serving temperature, and season with salt.
- Divide the soup among warmed bowls and garnish each portion with some of the walnuts, if using. Serve immediately.
- In a small heavy pan over medium heat, combine the fennel seeds, coriander seeds, and peppercorns. When the fennel turns light brown, work quickly. Turn on the exhaust fan, add the red pepper flakes, and toss, toss, toss, always under the fan. Immediately turn the spice mixture out onto a plate to cool. Put in a blender with the chili powder, salt, and cinnamon and blend until the spices are evenly ground. If you have a small spice mill or a coffee grinder dedicated to grinding spices, grind only the fennel, coriander, pepper, and chili flakes. Pour into a bowl and toss with the remaining ingredients.
- Yield: about 1 cup
- In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet, heat about 1-inch of oil to 350 degrees F.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add walnuts and blanch for 30 seconds. Drain and transfer nuts to a medium bowl. While nuts are still hot and slightly wet, add confectioners’ sugar and toss to coat nuts. Stir and toss until all the sugar has melted into the nuts; if bits of unmelted sugar remain on the nuts, they will not fry properly.
- Stir the nuts again before frying. Using a large slotted spoon, transfer a few nuts to the hot oil, allowing the foam to subside before adding another spoonful. (Otherwise, the oil could foam over and burn you.) Fry in small batches until the nuts are medium brown, about 45 seconds per batch; be careful not to overcook. Scatter on an unlined baking sheet to cool slightly.
- In a small bowl, stir together cayenne, cinnamon, a pinch of salt, and the pepper.
- While the nuts are still warm, transfer them to a bowl and sprinkle evenly with about half of the spice mix. Toss well to distribute the spices and then taste a nut. Add more spice mix, to taste, and toss well after each addition. When cool, pack in an airtight jar. They will keep at room temperature for at least 2 weeks.
- Yield: 4 cups
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 704 |
| Total Fat | 54 g |
| Saturated Fat | 7 g |
| Carbohydrates | 52 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 12 g |
| Sugar | 22 g |
| Protein | 18 g |
| Cholesterol | 8 mg |
| Sodium | 1069 mg |
Reviews
Good soup but watch out for the spices.
I served this with Christmas dinner, and only two out of five adults said it was good. The rest didn’t care for it. For me, the 3 cups of green apples used in the video sweetened the flavor of the squash way too much. I’m not sure if that was the only problem, but it had a funny taste. I LOVE butternut squash, but did NOT like this soup.
This recipe is wonderful, I make it very often. I don’t always use all the seasoning depending on my mood and sometimes I add a little apple juice for sweetness. The nuts I usually bake instead of fry by boiling in water 3 minutes and covering in powdered sugar pinch of cayenne or cinnamon and bake 10 minutes 400. But all in all, a great recipe! Thanks Michael for another winner!
I made it with a few variations because I didn’t have many of the spices. I left the peels on the apples and added about 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. It was wonderful, even a week later.
I just want to say that this was the best butternut squash I ever tasted! What’s good about for me is that I just finished the Master Cleanse Diet and you can’t have anything but vegetable soup. Well I substituted the chicken broth for vegetable broth and it still tasted great. Maybe it’s because I have not eaten in 10 days :! But, seriously it does have great flavor. I will make this again even when I’m not coming off a cleanse. Thanks Michael.
Absolutely delicious. I frequently make the candied nuts on their own.
Perfect balance in the soup as is. I know this is a bit over the top, but for me it embodies fall perfectly. Great side dish
Absolutely LOVE this recipe!
Wonderful soup, however I don’t care for real spicy food so added much less of the red pepper ingredients. I used leftover cushaw (kershaw squash that had sauteed onions in it. I added carrot and apple pulp left over from juicing this morning. I also added low fat canned milk, about a cup and much less chicken broth and water. Served with crispy bacon bits and shredded parmesan cheese. Still a sweet savory soup that we loved!
just loved the recipe.it has a hint of sweet and a little heat. perfect for a chilly day: