Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 butternut squash (about 2 pounds), peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 4 red or golden apples, peeled, cored, and chopped, plus 1 apple, finely diced and tossed in lemon juice, for garnish (optional)
• 2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 1/2 cups water, plus more if needed
• 1 jalapeno chile, thinly sliced, for garnish (optional)
• Sour cream, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to soften, about 4 minutes. Add squash, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes. Add apples, salt, cumin, coriander, ginger, cayenne, black pepper, stock, and the water (just enough to cover). Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook until vegetables are very soft, about 30 minutes. Puree in batches in a food processor or blender until smooth, and return to saucepan. Heat over low, thinning with more water if necessary. To serve, ladle into shallow bowls; garnish with diced apples, jalapeno slices, and sour cream if desired.

This soup can be made ahead of time and refrigerated up to 3 days or frozen up to a month; let cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Reheat gently before serving (thaw frozen soup overnight in the refrigerator).