Butternut Apple Harvest Soup with Pulled Chicken
I love apples all year long. Probably eat 2 a day. So you can imagine what its like for me during the fall season when the pickings are abundant and plentiful. So many varieties with so many flavor profiles and textures. Great to cook with and of course eat right out of hand.
In this soup I use 2 style of apples. One is a crisp type that holds its shape a little better with cooking and the other that breaks up easier and serves the puree purpose even better. Marry those flavors with a another fall favorite ingredient, butternut squash, and you get a delicious and satisfying soup that is perfect for any fall or winter day.
This is a simple recipe to follow.
Ingredients:
- 1 medium size Butternut Squash: peeled, seeded and medium chopped
- 1 Macintosh Apple: can substitute Cortland
Peeled, seeded and medium chopped
- 1 Pink Lady Apple: can substitute Honey crisp, Taylor, Braeburn, Gala...any crisp variety
Peeled, seeded and medium chopped
- 1 medium Onion: peeled, chop ends off and small diced
- 4 cups Chicken Stock: or just enough to cover squash and apples
- Juice of 1 Lemon
- 2 tsp Thyme: chopped fine
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
- salt
- pepper
- 2 cups Pulled Chicken: Use already whole roasted chicken found at most supermarkets already
cooked and sold warm. Pull meat while the meat is still warm. Either do it
the minute you get it home or if you are taking out from a refrigerated state,
loosen the cover and place in the microwave oven and reheat in bursts of 45
seconds. Once warm enough to handle...pull meat. Discard the skin.
- 1 cup peas: frozen are fine.
- Chives
Preparation:
Place the squash, apples, onion and stock in a medium to large pot.
Cover and bring to a boil on high heat.
Once at a rolling boil, lower heat to low medium heat and leave cover on.
Cook until squash and apples are very tender.
Remove from heat and add lemon juice, thyme, nutmeg and cinnamon.
With a whisk gently stir enough to bring to a rough puree leaving chunks and lumps in the mix.
If you want it looser add a little more stock.
Once pureed to desired consistency fold in pulled chicken (add as much or little as you want).
Fold in peas
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Place pot back in medium heat and heat back up for another 2 minutes stirring gently with a spatula
without breaking up the consistency.
Remove from heat. Add chopped chives.
Serve.
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