Dan Smith
I have this annual October ritual that revolves around Stayman apples making it from the orchard to the store. The Staymans, coupled with the fresh crop of butternut squash, work to create a soup magic that I find unparalleled. I would never have imagined either in a soup before I paired them–on the recommendation of a good friend from back in the mountains. She said it's a traditional mountain farm dish, but, though I'm from the mountains, I'm not from the farm.
So, I tried her suggestion and the butternut squash soup was so flavorful that I nearly cried with the joy of the moment. Since the first pot, I've filled my kitchen each October with the smell of roasting butternut squash and cooking Stayman apples, and a sweet smell it is.
The Stayman was developed in 1866 by a Levenworth, KS, physician named Dr. Joseph Stayman and has been a cooking apple staple since then. It is too tart for the taste of the many, but I favor the taste because it is so thoroughly refreshing, especially when the apples are cold and crisp, which they are in mid-October through early-November, about three weeks. That's when I make the soup. (The squash, by the way, are only 49 cents a pound right now at Ikenberry Orchard in Daleville, where I also get my apples, grown there.)
This week, I made some (a little early) for a friend and changed the recipe slightly because she is a vegetarian. Where I normally use chicken stock, I switched to vegetable stock and detected absolutely no change in taste.
Here's what you need:
- 2 medium butternut squash
- 4 medium Staymen apples
- 1/4 cup sweet onions
- Clove garlic
- 3 tsp of the best olive oil you can find
- 3 tbsp butter
- 4 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock, if preferred)
- 2 cups heavy cream
- Tbsp Worstershire
- 1/3 cup Parmesian cheese
- Nutmeg (to taste)
Cook the squash and apples until they're as soft as mashed potatoes. I do it in the microwave, but it doesn’t really matter how they’re cooked. Chop the apples, squash, garlic and onions in a food processor and churn until it’s smooth. Put it all in a big pot and add the chicken or veggie stock, butter, oil, Worcestershire, cheese and nutmeg and simmer for about two hours. Stir it occasionally or it will stick. Add the cream shortly before serving and let it absorb for about 15 minutes, simmering.
I tend to let mine sit for a day or so before serving because it takes a bit of time for the flavors to combine completely. Just set your cream aside and add it last. Serve with a sprinkling if cinnamon, swirled with a fork, and a sprig of green.
Dan Smith is an award-winning Roanoke-based writer/author/photographer and a member of the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame (Class of 2010). His blog, fromtheeditr.com, is widely read and he has authored seven books, including the novel CLOG! He is founding editor of a Roanoke-based business magazine and a former Virginia Small Business Journalist of the Year (2005).