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Dinner Together: Creamy soup spotlights fall flavors

The fall flavors of butternut squash, apples and curry combine in this silky soup.

Share the fall flavors of squash and apple in a delicious and surprisingly quick soup.

This spicy-sweet soup will satisfy even if you don’t splurge on crab to garnish the finished dish.

I first tried this soup a few years ago when the recipe arrived in my weekly delivery of produce from Full Circle farms.

The finished soup is creamy without cream and the sweetness in the apples comes through without added sugar. The spice in the curry powder completes the natural warming effect of a good soup, starting from the inside out.

The flavor of this soup is enhanced by caramelization of the squash as it roasts in the oven, but I’ll admit to cheating on depth of flavor for the sake of speed this month. Instead of waiting an hour for the squash to roast in the oven, I opted for 10 minutes in the microwave. The soup did not suffer for it.

I also used half the amount of dry sherry in the finished soup (because I ran out) and it was still delicious. You could certainly skip it altogether and should if the only sherry you have on hand is the sherry cooking wine usually found on the grocery store shelves near the vinegar.

I always make a mess pureeing soup in the blender. Take care not to overfill the blender and allow the steam to escape by removing the lid’s center insert. Cover the hole with a kitchen towel to avoid a burn and the redecoration of your kitchen ceiling. Immersion blenders make the job quicker and cleaner.

This soup works for vegetarians and vegans as long as you opt for vegetable broth and olive oil instead of butter and skip the crab. The soup is gluten-free.

I was craving something warm after the first dip into cooler fall weather, but cooks can also hang on to this recipe until deep into the winter months.

Buying crab stretches the budgetary limit of Dinner Together, but it’s an elegant addition for a special occasion or a splurge.

Curried Squash Soup, with (or without) Crab

From Full Circle

1 (4-pound) Kabocha, butternut or other dense winter squash, halved and seeded

1 large onion, chopped

1 cup chopped celery

2 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled

2 tablespoons butter or olive oil

1/4 cup tomato paste

3 tablespoons curry powder

2 large tart apples, such as Granny Smith or Braeburn, peeled and coarsely chopped

8 cups chicken or vegetable broth

2 cups water

2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Salt, to taste

1/2 cup dry sherry

1/2 pound shelled cooked crab

Optional garnish: 1 red bell pepper cut in 1/4 inch dice, chives

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Roast squash, cut sides down, in an oiled roasting pan in middle of oven until tender, about 1 hour. When cool enough to handle, scrape flesh from skin and set aside – about 5 cups.

Or, cut squash in half and put cut-side down in a glass baking dish. Add about ½ cup water to the dish. Microwave squash on high for about 10 minutes, or until squash is tender. Cool and scrape flesh from the skin.

Melt the butter or heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat and add the onion, celery and garlic. Saute until the onion and celery are soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and curry powder. Stir and cook for about 1 minute.

Add apples, broth, water, ginger, bay leaf and pepper. Bring to a boil stirring often; cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes then add cooked squash and simmer 10 more minutes, until squash is hot and mashes easily.

Remove and discard the bay leaf. In a blender, food processor or using an immersion blender, puree soup until smooth. Salt to taste, keep in mind crab will add a salty flavor.

If using a food processor or blender, pour soup back into the pan. Add sherry and stir over medium heat just until steaming.

Remove any cartilage and shell from the crab. Ladle soup into wide bowls, mound equal portions of crab in the center and garnish with bell pepper or chives, if desired, and serve with crusty bread.

Yield: 6-8 servings