Winter Squash Soup

The other day, I was watching a Public Broadcasting System (PBS) show featuring The Little Inn of Washington in the foothills of the Virginia mountains.  I liked that the chef utilized the local farmers' seasonal harvest and my interest really perked up when the chef talked about the rutabaga that he used in a soup made of winter squash and Granny Smith apples.

Assorted Winter Squash, Sweet Potato, and Rutabaga

 I was inspired to venture down to the Farmer's Market to find out what kind of squash they had to offer and found a pale pie pumpkin, butternut squash, and an acorn squash.  In addition, I also bought a rutabaga and some Granny Smith apples.

The pumpkins and the squash are nice to look at but how the heck do you halve them and/or peel them?  May I recommend an ax?

The butternut squash was the easiest to cut and peel.  I halved the rest sideways, scooped out the seeds, and placed them on a cookie sheet and baked them in a 375 degree F oven for 40 minutes.

To make the soup based on a recipe from The Little Inn in Washington, I used the following:  along with the squash, I also used carrots, sweet potatoes, yellow onions, and half a diced rutabaga. I peeled and cut and diced them and put them all in my stock pot.

I added 3-4 cups of homemade chicken broth and to sweeten the mix I added 1/4 cup of pancake syrup,  I let the mix come to a boil, turn the heat down, and let it simmer for 30 minutes.

When the vegetables were soft, I pureed them in a blender.  Some people like their soups pureed finely and even put through a sieve while others don't mind being able to recognize some of the vegetables.

After pureeing, I returned the soup to the pot to heat up again and added a chunk of margarine and a grated half of a Granny Smith apple.  (Add more broth, if desired.)  Finally, I added half a cup of heavy cream.

The beauty with this soup is that you may cook it any way you want and use as much or as little of the squash and the broth.  It is so naturally sweet and no spices are necessary.

This makes for a smooth and sweet soup served in demitasse cups as done at The Little Inn of Washington.  I couldn't find my cups so I used mugs.

At the Little Inn of Washington

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