Squash and apple soup with cider
Serves: 4-6
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Maja Smend
Squash and apple soup with cider
Roasted butternut squash makes a moreishly velvety soup. Try toasting the squash seeds and scattering them over the soup with the bacon for extra crunch
Serves: 4-6
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
454Kcal
Fat
28gr
Saturates
12gr
Carbs
24gr
Sugars
16gr
Fibre
6gr
Protein
15gr
Salt
1.8gr
Rebecca Woollard
Rebecca Woollard started her culinary career as a chalet cook. She is now a food stylist and recipe writer with 10 years of magazine experience.
See more of Rebecca Woollard’s recipes
Rebecca Woollard
Rebecca Woollard started her culinary career as a chalet cook. She is now a food stylist and recipe writer with 10 years of magazine experience.
See more of Rebecca Woollard’s recipes
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash (1-1.25kg), deseeded and cut into 3cm chunks (wash, dry and retain the seeds to use as a crunchy topping, if you like)
- 2 tbsp olive oil, plus ½ tsp
- 3 eating apples, 2 cored and cut into wedges
- 60g butter
- 1 red onion, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 500ml medium-dry cider
- 1 ltr chicken stock (fresh, or made with 2 stock cubes*)
- 6 streaky bacon rashers
- thyme leaves, to serve
Step by step
- Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. Spread the squash out in a single layer on your largest baking tray, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of oil and toss to coat. Season with salt and roast for 20 minutes.
- After this time, add the apple wedges to the tray, turn the squash and roast for a further 25 minutes, until the squash is golden and crisp around the edges and the apples have browned and puffed up.
- Meanwhile, melt half the butter in a large saucepan and fry the red onion over a medium heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring often, until softened but not coloured. Stir in the garlic and fry for 1-2 minutes more until fragrant. Turn the heat up, add the cider and simmer for around 10 minutes until reduced by two-thirds. Add the stock, bring to a simmer and keep warm over a low heat.
- Put the bacon in a large frying pan with ½ teaspoon oil over a medium-high heat. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden and crisp. Remove to a paper-lined plate to drain, leaving the fat in the pan.
- Finely dice the remaining apple, then melt the remaining butter in the bacon pan and return to a medium-high heat. Fry the apple with a little salt, stirring often, for 3-4 minutes, until golden and soft and the butter has browned.
-
Once the roast squash and apple are ready, tip into the saucepan with the stock. Bring to a simmer, then blitz with a stick blender until completely smooth. Season to taste, then ladle into bowls. Roughly chop the bacon and scatter over the bowls with a spoonful of the buttered apples. Garnish with thyme and serve immediately.
*Check your stock is gluten-free, if required.
