A friend shared this recipe sometime in the middle of the winter. We loved this soup and decided to make a batch for camping.
Squash soup is always perfect in the winter, but we decided it will be just as good in the summer, sitting beside a lake.
This is a nice thick soup, with just a bit of a bite.
Ingredients
1 large butternut squash (about 4 lbs)
1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups of diced onion
2 cups diced granny smith apple unpeeled (peeled if you must)
1 clove garlic minced
¼ teaspoon crushed red chili flakes
4 cups chicken broth (vegetable broth works too of course)
1 teaspoons salt (less if you used salted butter, more if you love salt) I always err on the side of caution and let people do their own.
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (I add a bit more because everyone we camp with LOVES pepper)
½ cup cream (I use half and half)
5-8 fresh chopped sage leaves
½ cup toasted pumpkin seeds or pumpkin croutons (see recipe)
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 Fahrenheit or 190 degrees Celsius
Wash and dry the squash, then cover it with 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil. Place squash on a tray – (foil or parchment lined makes for easier cleanup). Place the squash in the oven for an hour to an hour and a half, turning often. You know it is done when you can pierce it with a knife or fork easily. When it’s done cut it in half and let it cool. Then remove the seeds and place the flesh in a bowl or directly into the pot if you have everything else ready to go.
In a large pot or Dutch oven, over medium heat, melt the butter and add the onions. Cook until onions are just starting to caramelize.
Add the diced apple and cook until soften (5 minutes). Add garlic and red chili flakes and cook for 1 minute.
Remove the pan from the heat if your squash isn’t ready. I often do my squash the day before so it is all ready to go.
Add the stock, salt and pepper and stir.
Bring to a boil over medium high heat and then reduce it to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to break up large pieces.
Remove the pot from the heat and add the cream and sage.
Use an immersion blender or food processor to puree the soup.
Season to taste.
Dehydrate
Place on dehydrator trays.
I like to let the soup cool before doing this because the soup thickens. However, when I made this soup I didn’t have a lot of time. So when I added the soup to the trays it actually went over the edge. I started adding a little bit at a time building up each tray slowly.
Set the dehydrator to 145 F. Our soup took 24 hours to dehydrate.
In Camp
Cover with water and re-hydrate.
This year we are going to try home made pumpkin bread croutons with this soup. We will let you know how it turns out.