roasted butternut squash and apple bisque

today over on my fatherhood blog, real men drive minivans, i posted the first recipe in my fall flavors series. i also created a quick video of me making the bisque and thought i’d share that over here.

hardware

dutch oven or large stock pot
blender or immersion blender
measuring cups and spoons, wooden spoon

software

4 cups roasted butternut squash (see link for recipe)
2 granny smith apples, peeled and chopped
olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons orange zest
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
6 cups chicken stock (or cold water)
1 cinnamon stick
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1/2 cup heavy cream (or half and half)

assemblage

heat olive oil in a large saucepan or dutch oven
add onions and saute for three to five minutes, or until translucent
add the onions and carrot and saute for another three to five minutes
add apples, orange zest, pulp from vanilla bean, ginger, nutmeg, salt and pepper
add chicken stock (or cold water) and bring to a boil
add cinnamon stick, vanilla bean and roasted butternut squash
reduce heat, cover and cook for approximately 35 to 40 minutes
turn off the heat, remove cinnamon stick and vanilla bean, then transfer to a blender in batches or use an immersion blender and blend until smooth
add the heavy cream and stir to combine
taste the soup and adjust seasoning, if necessary

presentation

there isn’t too much you need to do to make a bowl of soup look appetizing, but sometimes I just want to twist things up a bit. with other bisques I’ve made I’ve used mascarpone cheese to replace half of the heavy cream to give it a different texture and creaminess. rather than repeat myself, I chose to make a cinnamon scented mascarpone sauce as a garnish to swirl on top of the soup before serving.

cinnamon scented mascarpone sauce

1/2 container mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

soften the mascarpone
add the milk a little at a time until you achieve the consistency you desire (I shot for a slightly thick pancake batter consistency
stir in the cinnamon