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.

Fall Flavors: Roasted Butternut Squash & Apple Bisque from PJ Mullen on Vimeo.

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

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