During one of our many recent snow days all I really wanted for lunch was corn chowder. I didn’t have any, or the ingredients to make it, and didn’t feel like going out to get any.
In my search for another option I came across this recipe from Williams Sonoma. There was a time in my life (before a mortgage, three kids, and bad economy) when Williams Sonoma meant shopping for fun kitchen things and great sauces for dinner. I have now found something new and useful from the chefs at Williams Sonoma- online recipes. I’m sure they’ve been there for a while, but as I prefer a book I can look at and get messy while cooking I hadn’t been a frequent user of online recipes. I’m expanding my horizons though and hopefully that will work out well for the whole family. I made a few changes to the original recipe, so be sure to take a look at my notes below.
Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
Ingredients
2 whole butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1” cubes
1 yellow onion, cut in half lengthwise and sliced thin
3 cups chicken broth
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and thinly sliced.
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup crème fraiche
1/4 tsp. ground coriander (optional)
1/4 tsp. grated peeled fresh ginger (optional)
What’s Next
- Place all ingredients EXCEPT the creme fraiche in the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on high heat for 4 hours until vegetables are soft.
- Remove bay leaves.
- Puree in batches in a food processor.
- Return to slow cooker and add more chicken broth if necessary to get desired consistency.
- Add crème fraiche and cook another 30 minutes on warm or low (depending on your slow cooker) until cream is fully incorporated into soup.
- Stir in coriander and ginger.
- Serve with toasted baguette slices.
Notes from my experience
If you look at this full recipe online, you will see that it uses already pureed butternut squash, which one would assume can be purchased at Williams Sonoma. I didn’t have any of that. So, rather than cook and puree my squash ahead of time I decided to peel, seed, and cut the squash and cook it in the slow cooker. Remember, I’m going for easy here and this was definitely easier. It did however require the addition of more chicken broth to get it to the right consistency. (This corresponds with the instructions above)
If you have never cut up your own butternut squash, here is a helpful hint: Peel it first. It will make it much easier to cut.
This was a delicious creamy soup! Great on a cold winter day.
