2 Tbsp. butter
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup sliced celery stalks and leaves
1 large butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 small cooking apple (such as Jonagold or Granny Smith), peeled, cored, and cut into chunks
6 cups chicken stock or water
2 cinnamon sticks
6 whole cloves
6 allspice berries
garnish:
chopped fresh chives
sour cream
Cook onion and celery in butter over medium-high heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Place the squash and apple in a slow cooker; add onion mixture and stock. Cover and cook on low about 5 1/5 hours, until squash and apple are tender. Grind spices in a mortar or spice grinder; add to soup and cook another half hour. With an immersion blender or, working in batches, in a regular blender, puree the soup until smooth. Reheat if needed.
Adapted from: The gourmet slow cooker, vol. II : regional comfort-food classics / Lynn Alley. Ten Speed Press, 2006. 9781580087322
This is another of those posts I prepared for the Tumwater Farmers' Market blog before it switched editors. There are several of these, which will appear this winter when I'm feeling particularly cold and uninspired.
Esperanta traduko: this post is also available in Esperanto, because Dana is a language geek.
