Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Curry

A couple of weeks ago I returned to my little writing hamlet in Point Reyes for the weekend. This was just after I returned from France and I was far from adjusted: no cooking, no sleeping, a little bit confused by the lack of large monuments and sweeping boulevards.

On the drive out from the city I was overcome with a huge desire to cook. I stopped at the Palace Market for supplies, then made my way up the dark winding hill towards the house. I arrived just as the sun was setting, unpacked my goods and got to work making this simple, warm, and filling soup. The recipe comes from my dear friend Sarah's mother, Marguerite Henderson, who is a culinary queen. I hope she'll approve of the minor modifications I made to her recipe for Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Curry.

As the soup flavors simmered I set to work making granola. The next morning I churned out a monster batch of chocolate chip cookies. After a few weeks away from the kitchen it felt just right to be back: music on low, red wine poured,cold night outside, warm oven inside. Perfectly content.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Curry
4 cups roasted butternut squash -- about 1 pound squash, or use pre-cut.
4 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 pink lady apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1” cubes
4 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup half and half
Garnish with sour cream, chopped green onions

Carefully slice butternut squash in half and scoop out seeds. Place two halves flesh side down on baking sheet that has been covered with aluminum foil and drizzled with olive oil. Roast in 425 oven for about 40 minutes, or until done. You can tell it is done when you can stab the squash with a knife and the blade cleanly slices the cooked vegetable flesh. Once butternut squash is roasted, let it cool. The scoop out cooked flesh and use in recipe below.

In a large saucepan, heat butter. Saute the onion until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Add the cooked squash and apples. Cover; simmer on low for 2-3 minutes. Add the broth, curry powder, salt, sugar and pepper. Cover; simmer on low heat for 20 to 30 minutes to meld flavors. Transfer to a blender, food processor or use an immersion blender to puree the soup (do this in small batches if using blender or processor.) Transfer to saucepan, add the half and half and simmer the soup for another 2 minutes on low just until heated through. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and chopped onions.
Serves 6-8.