The spicy, fragrant flavors of curry powder and allspice combine with sweet butternut squash and Golden Delicious apples in this hearty and healthy soup.
A good soup always needs some crunch, and this recipe goes way beyond oyster crackers and croutons. Salty cashews, sweet toasted coconut, fresh scallions, and the tart punch of aged balsamic vinegar turn this soup into something really special. I made this soup for one of the daily amuse-bouche creations we have to come up with at the canapé station at L’Ecole. I was inspired by a recipe Ina Garten features in one of my all-time favorite cookbooks, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, but added some additional flavor components like leeks, garlic, and allspice to make it a bit more savory, and stirred in some tangy crème fraiche to give it more body.
The aged balsamic is really key, the acidity adds a much needed balance and brightens up your palate-exactly what an amuse-bouche is supposed to do. But don’t think you can only enjoy a small taste of this soup, fill up a big ol’ bowl and grab a crusty piece of bread and you have yourself a meal.
The recipe for Roasted Curried Butternut Squash and Apple soup was featured in this week’s Weekend Warrior column over at MarcusSamuelsson.com. Click here to get the recipe: http://marcussamuelsson.com/recipes/roasted-curried-butternut-squash-and-apple-soup
P.S. This post could not have come at a better time, because just this week I ran into none other than the Barefoot Contessa herself coming out of the elevator at Food Network studios. I was so beside myself with excitement that I said hello, and she said hello back. It was a magical moment, and one that I’ll never forget 
Tara O'Keeffe