Ever since I got a pressure cooker for Christmas I’ve been making soups on the regular.  Nothing fancy.  Honestly, I’ve only really put together butternut squash soup (and pumpkin soup one time when I stole a whole pumpkin from my neighbor’s yard that had been sitting out since Halloween.. it was still good and Giant was out).  But so far my favorite recipe has been one my mom recommended to me that included an apple.  Crazy right?  Or brilliant?! It’s not fall anymore but it turns out squash and apple are pretty good friends. This recipe is one of the better ones I’ve tried, but all you really need is the veg and some stock.

4 Bacon slices

1 large onion chopped

2 carrots chopped

2 celery ribs chopped

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and finely chopped

2 garlic cloves chopped

1 2 lbs. butternut squash

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock (32 oz. container)

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

pinch Chinese allspice

pinch ground nutmeg

pinch cayenne pepper (I make it a big pinch for the heat)

Cooked while listening to Kinks playlist on Pandora

First a quick note on how to break down a squash: It’s not always necessary to remove the outer skin of butternut squash, but for this dish I like to since it helps make sure the soup is nice and silky. Take your squash and slice off the top and bottom so the hollow bottom has a hole in it. Then cut off the “neck” to separate it from the round “bulb” part. Place you neck vertically and (keeping your fingers clear of the blade) slice off the sink pushing downward. Do the same with the bulb, with 2 or 3 cuts on each side since it’s tough to get your blade to follow the round of the bottom. Then you can just slice the bulb in half and shovel out the seeds and innards. Chop the squash up however you please.

Ok, now that that’s out of the way, toss in about 4 strips of bacon on medium low heat in the pot you’ll be using for the soup. While that’s happening chop up your onions, celery, carrots, garlic.

Once the bacon is cooked and set aside on paper towels, pour off half of the rendered fat/grease and toss in the onions and carrots to cook till tender. Add your peeled and chopped apple and celery for another 5 minutes of sauteing. Add garlic for a quick minutes of cooking for finish it off.

Finally add butternut and stock.

At this point with a pressure cooker you just put the lid on and let it go for about 10 minutes on medium heat depending how yours works. If you’re using a stove top, just bring everything to boil and reduce the heat to let it simmer for 20 minutes.

Once the carrots are tender process the mix in batches via a blender or other handy gadgets. Return to pot on low heat and add your spices. Stir till your happy with the seasoning, crumble the bacon and sprinkle on top with a dollop of sour cream. Gangbusters!