Since it is starting to get colder out and it is be­coming soup weather, I thought I would share an­other one of my favorite soup recipes. My friends and I made a double batch of this soup last week to be sure that our freezers would be stocked and ready for winter. If you go to the farmers’ market or even look carefully at Price Chopper, you can get a lot of these ingredients from local farms.

Don’t worry if you are not usually a curry lover. In this soup, the curry is mild enough that it just adds another dimension of flavor without being too spicy or overwhelming.

This soup can be even more interesting when it is served with some great toppings. For exam­ple, try some grated parmesan or asiago cheese, candied pecans, homemade croutons, sunflower seeds or our personal favorite, pita chips.

There is quite a bit of chopping involved in making this soup, so try to convince a few friends to help out (like I did) and the prep work will go a lot faster. You can always bribe them with delicious soup.

From Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa

Makes 3 and 1/2 to 4 quarts

2 tbsp of unsalted butter

2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

4 cups of chopped yellow onions (about

3 large onions)

2 tbsp mild curry powder

5 pounds of butternut squash (about 3

medium squash)

1 and 1/2 pounds of sweet apples, like

McIntosh or Cortland (about 4 large apples)

2 cups of water

2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Up to 2 cups apple juice or apple cider

1. Warm the butter and olive oil in a large stockpot over low heat, until the butter is melt­ed. Add the onions and curry powder and cook uncovered for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the onions are tender. Stir occasionally, being sure to incorporate all of the curry powder.

2. Peel the squash (with a vegetable peel­er), cut it in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into chunks.

3. Peel and core the apples, then cut into chunks.

4. Add the squash, apples, salt, pepper and two cups of water to the pot. Bring it to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes, until the squash and apples become very soft. Occasionally stir the soup to make sure that the ingredients are combined, es­pecially being sure to get some of the water back to the top of the pot.

5. Purée the soup, in small batches, in a blender or food processor, so that the pieces of squash and apple are gone but the soup is not too thin.

6. Pour the soup back into the pot. Add the apple juice or cider in small amounts until the soup is the consistency you like. You might use only 1/4 of a cup, so start slowly. Taste for salt and pepper and serve hot.

Contact Emily Suskin at [email protected].