Winter Squash Soup

I made this little gem on Sunday. It's been a little bit cold a few days in the past two weeks, and the weather had me wanting soup. The three main ingredients are apples, onions, and squash. The first time I encountered this recipe, I thought, "Really?"

Yes, really. The flavors are delicious together. I have been adding apple peels or cores to my soup stocks ever since.

Ingredients:

• Apples - 3 or 4 medium, peeled (or not) and sliced in to wedges
• Onions - 1 large or 2 medium, quartered
• Squash - 1 pound cut into cubes (or more, if you like. This dish is super flexible). I prefer butternut, but pumpkin or baby bear would also be divine.
• Oil for sauteing
• Cooking liquid (veg. broth or water)
• Tarragon - the leaves from a few sprigs.
• Milk or cream (soy milk and buttermilk are both delicious choices). The amount will depend on the desired consistency of the soup.
• 1/2 cup white wine (opt. Chardonnay is lovely)
• Pepper to taste
• Salt to taste

Saute the apples, onions, and squash. Add salt and pepper at this stage if you wish.Saute until the onions are clear. Place the mixture in a stock pot with your cooking liquid. Cook on medium heat until the squash is tender. Add the tarragon during the last few minutes of simmering. Now, puree the mixture in a blender or food processor (the stick/immersion blender, while a miracle of modern convenience, is of no use here unless you've taken the pains to cut the squash into tiny pieces). Place the puree back in the stock pot. Add the wine, milk, salt and pepper to taste. Heat through, but do not boil, as the milk or cream may start to curdle.

While the terragon adds a nice complexity to the flavor of the soup, I think cinnamon and nutmeg or mace would be a nice substitution.

The original recipe is from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything.