Liquid Autumn: A Soup for Cold Winter Nights

From Kim Vu. He also has his own food blog, DC Wrapped Dates. Follow him at@dcwrappeddates or email him at kim[AT]borderstan.com.

Autumn and I have a love-hate relationship. On the one hand, it’s the season of my birthday, and more importantly, delicious root vegetables. On the other hand, it’s also getting freaking cold outside. Lucky for us, there are plenty of ways we can mitigate the latter by utilizing the former. In the form of awesome, warm-you-to-your-core soups.

One of my favorite soups to keep away the cold comes courtesy of the brilliant Patrick O’Connell at the Inn at Little Washington, and the first time I ever tasted it, I immediately tracked down the recipe. It’s a little bit sweet, a lot soulful and definitely will be one of the best soups you’ll ever have.

Liquid Autumn Soup

Makes 2 quarts, or 6-8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup peeled, cored, and chopped Granny Smith apple
• 1 cup peeled and chopped rutabaga
• 1 cup peeled, seeded, and chopped butternut squash
• 1 cup peeled and chopped carrots
• 1 cup peeled and chopped sweet potato
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• Salt and cayenne pepper to taste

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan/pot, add the fruits/vegetables to cook. Stir occasionally until onions are translucent.
2. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes until tender.
3. Transfer mixture to a blender or food processor and puree.
4. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and return to saucepan/pot. Add cream, maple syrup, salt, and cayenne, and bring to simmer again.
5. Serve and be warm!

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