Butternut and Apple Soup

This week was our last Farm Share Basket- so sad. The past 2 hauls did give us a lot of vegetables with a long keeping time, so we should be enjoying fresh vegetables for the next few weeks. We have carrots, onions, potatoes, winter squashes and sweet potatoes. I have been making some soups to freeze for later. I have some kale soup that was made a few weeks ago and I made butternut squash soup last night. Tonight I will be experimenting with the Celeriac root. Alien territory for me, the root looks a bit intimidating.
The Butternut squash soup uses mostly seasonal ingredients that were in the farm basket: potato, onion, leeks and carrots as well as the squash. The recipe also calls for a granny smith apple, for some sweetness. I have used other kinds of apples with good results. This time I actually had an opened jar of applesauce, so I used that to save time. I was really tired last night and needed to go to bed. For the squash, it was already cooked, left overs from a meal earlier in the week. I actually used a buttercup squash, which is dark green and roundish, not creamy beige and longish.

Winter squash and Apple Soup

2 tbsp transfat free margarine
3 large leeks, white and pale green parts only, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
2 1/2 cups butternut or other winter squash
1/21 cup diced carrots
1 apple, peeled cored and sliced.
1 quart low sodium chicken stock
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
pepper to taste
1/2 cup skim milk (milk or cream if you like)

1. Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in leeks and onions, cook until onion softens, about 5 minutes. Add potato, squash, carrots, apple and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, until vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes.
2. Remove from heat. Puree the soup with an immersion blender. Add milk , nutmeg and pepper. Stir to combine. Gently reheat if needed.

Leaks are often dirty things. After trimming, slice lengthwise and run under cold water to wash out any sand. Dry on paper towels or a kitchen towel.