Recipe: A Fall Favorite

Has everyone gotten their fill of pumpkin and apple picking this season? If not, there is still time to go and get some good organic vegetables and fruit to make one of my personal favorite soups. Butternut Squash! I make this soup every year for Thanksgiving as a starter and its always a hit. Its also very easy to make and healthy as well. So if you haven't yet, get to your local pumpkin farm and ask for some butternut squash. Its usually planted with the pumpkins and gourds so I'm sure they'll have it. Getting it fresh from the farm or your garden will ensure that the least amount of pesticides have been used. Pick up a Granny Smith apple while your at it!

Health BenefitsLow in fat, butternut squash delivers an ample dose of dietary fiber, making it an exceptionally heart-friendly choice. It provides significant amounts of potassium, important for bone health, and vitamin B6, essential for the proper functioning of both the nervous and immune systems. The folate content adds yet another boost to its heart-healthy reputation and helps guard against brain and spinal-cord-related birth defects such as spina bifida.

Squash's tangerine hue, however, indicates butternut's most noteworthy health perk. The color signals an abundance of powerhouse nutrients known as carotenoids, shown to protect against heart disease. In particular, the gourd boasts very high levels of beta-carotene (which your body automatically converts to vitamin A), identified as a deterrent against breast cancer and age-related macular degeneration, as well as a supporter of healthy lung development in fetuses and newborns. What's more, with only a 1-cup serving, you get nearly half the recommended daily dose of antioxidant-rich vitamin C. 

As if this weren't enough, butternut squash may have anti-inflammatory effects because of its high antioxidant content. Incorporating more of this hearty winter staple into your diet could help reduce risk of inflammation-related disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and asthma.

Read more at Wholeliving.com: Power Foods: Butternut Squash

What better way to warm your body and eat something absolutely delicious then to make this great fall soup. Here is my personal recipe, passed down from a dear friend, with all organic ingredients wherever possible.

Ingredients:

3tbls of unsalted, organic raw butter (use pasteurized if you prefer)

1/2 C finely diced and peeled granny smith apple

1/3 C minced shallot

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Sea salt and pepper to taste

3 tsp. white cooking wine

32 oz of butternut squash puree (from your organic butternut squash - about 2 med squashes)

2-2 1/2 C warmed organic chicken stock (homemade is best but who's checking?)

1/3 tsp finely chopped sage

To cook the squash:

Pre heat oven to 350. Slice squash in half the long way and scoop out the seeds and fibrous tissue. Place on baking sheet skin down. Bake for 45 minutes or until soft on the inside. It could take longer depending on your oven. Let cool. Scoop out insides of squash and puree sections at a time in your food processor until you have 32 oz of puree.

To make the soup:

In a large saucepan - med heat - melt butter. Add apple and shallot - saute until softened (5-7 minutes). Add ginger, cinnamon, salt and pepper and saute until fragrant (1 more minute). Add squash and 2 cups of stock, wine and sage. Simmer and reduce heat to medium low. Cook 20 minutes. Take soup in batches and puree in your food processor once again, then strain the puree through a mesh sieve over a clean sauce pan to get a nice a smooth texture. Like silk. Add more warm chicken stock if soup is still too thick. Serve immediately with a dollop of sour cream. Soup stores well for 3 days.

Good luck with this and feel free to let me know how it came out!