Recipe: Sweet Potato Apple Soup

Being a convertible girl, I'm also very much a warm weather girl. I love sun dresses, sandals, gin & tonics and all the other loveliness that comes with spring and summer.

But there are a few things that make fall and winter worthwhile. Stylish boots, sweater dresses, 7& 7... and soup. One of my wise friends actually refuses to say the word "fall," instead calling it "the season of soup." It does sound much more appealing.

Thanks to combined recipes from another friend and a magazine, I made a delicious (and easy and healthy) soup last week that you definitely want to try out -- what I love most about it is that it's a smooth, creamy soup without any dairy in it.

My version is the first recipe below, with a variation from my friend (including her notes) below that -- or you can go to Real Simple online and use theirs.

Sweet Potato Apple Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into pieces
• 1 acorn squash, peeled, seeded and cut into pieces (it had been in my pantry for far too long and needed to be used)
• 1 apple (I used Granny Smith but others would work just fine), peeled and chopped
• 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• generous pinch ground nutmeg

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 6 to 8 minutes.
2. Add the sweet potatoes, acorn squash, apple, broth, nutmeg, and 1½ cups water to the saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, until the potatoes are tender, 12 to 15 minutes.
3. Use a handheld immersion blender to puree until smooth. (If you don't have an immersion blender, you really should buy one. Or, working in batches, you can transfer the mixture to a blender and puree, adding more water if necessary to reach the desired consistency.)

Golden Winter Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp butter
• 5 cups 1/2 in. cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 lbs.)
• 1 russet potato peeled and cubed
• 1 granny smith apple peeled and cut
• 1 tsp kosher salt (optional -- when I add it I don't add as much broth or it can get too salty)
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 medium leeks sliced
• 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth (low-sodium might be a good option if you do the salt)
• 1 cups half-and-half

Directions

1. Melt butter in large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add squash, potato, salt, and pepper to pan; sauté 3 min. 
2. Add leek; sauté 1 min. 
3. Stir in broth; bring to a boil. 
4. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 min. or until potato is tender stirring occasionally. 
5. Blend to a smooth consistency.I use my immersion blender to get a smooth consistency. You can also put half of it in the blender and then pour into bowl and then pour rest into the blender. After it is blended, you stir in the half-and-half.