Butternut Squash Soup with Curried Horseradish Cream

Pusher was talking about squash on her blog, and it made me remember that I'd previously posted a recipe for Butternut Squash Soup with Curried Horseradish Cream. It's such a fall food that I thought I'd repost it here. Enjoy!

It's sounds spicy, but it's really not (or not the way I make it - you could of course up the spices yourself). Don't skip the horseradish cream - it adds a lot in terms of richness and flavor.


Butternut Squash Soup with Curried Horseradish Cream
(serves 6)

1 butternut squash
1 cooking apple
2 Tbl. butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1-2 tsp. curry powder
3 3/4 c. chicken or vegetable stock
1 tsp. chopped fresh sage
2/3 c. apple juice
salt & pepper
curry powder, to garnish

Curried Horseradish Cream
4 Tbl. double cream [Regular cream is fine.]
2 tsp. horseradish sauce
1/2 tsp. curry powder

1. Peel the squash, remove the seeds, and chop the flesh. Peel, core and chop the apple.

2. Heat the butter in a large saucepan [or Dutch oven]. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, until soft. Stir in the curry powder. Cook to bring out the flavor, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.

3. Add the stock, squash, apple, and sage. [I usually add the sage later with the apple juice since it's fresh, but I'd definitely add in ground/dried now if that's what you're using.] Bring to the boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes until the squash and apple are soft.

4. Meanwhile, make the horseradish cream. Whip the cream in a bowl until stiff, then stir in the horseradish sauce and curry powder. Cover and chill until required.

5. Puree the soup in a blender or food processor. [Or just mash in the pan with a potato masher if soft enough - much less cleanup!] Return to the clean pan [I don't know if they expect you to wash it before putting the same stuff back in, but that' s just crazy.] and add the apple juice, with salt and pepper to taste. Reheat gently, without allowing the soup to boil.

[You could probably keep it warm on low in a slow cooker, but I've never tried. If you do, and it works, leave a comment and tag it, ok?]

6. Serve the soup in individual bowls, topping each portion with a spoonful of horseradish cream and a dusting of curry powder. Garnish with a few lime shreds, if you like.

Enjoy!