[Wait! Teaching moment: this soup is made by simmering the squash in broth with chopped onions, celery, and carrots. These three veggies make up what the French call a mirepoix (pronounced MEER-pwah) and it's the base of most soup recipes. A classic mirepoix calls for a ratio of 50% onion, 25% celery and 25% carrots.]
ANYWAY. I saw a recipe in this month’s Food Network Magazine that added chicken apple sausage to this super simple soup. I’d never had chicken apple sausage before this, but it was absolutely delicious! The sausage I bought had maple in it, so I decided to incorporate that into the soup itself.
Butternut Squash Soup with Chicken Apple Sausage
Adapted from Food Network Magazine, October 2012
Makes 4 servings
8 oz. chicken apple sausage, cut into bite-size pieces
1 tbsp. olive oil plus extra
4 cups butternut squash, cubed (1 small squash)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
2 cups low-sodium or homemade chicken broth
3 cups water
1 tsp. salt
White pepper
1 tbsp. maple syrup
Heat a small amount of oil in a pan or skillet and cook the sausage. Set aside.
In a large pot, heat a tablespoon of oil. Cook the onions, celery, and carrots for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Add the squash, broth, water, salt and pepper. Cover, and bring to a simmer. Turn heat to low and continue cooking for 15 minutes or until the veggies are tender.
Remove from heat and transfer soup to a large bowl. Purée half the soup in a blender (with a towel over the top) and return to the pot. Repeat with remaining soup. Add cooked sausage and maple syrup and stir over low heat for 3-4 minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Optional: drizzle maple syrup into the bowl when serving.
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