Butternut Apple Soup

After going with my wife and young daughter to pick some apples, I decided to experiment with our bounty of crisp New York apples. This was a hit with my little girl, my wife, and her parents! I served this as a soup course preceding roasted pork with sauerkraut, and it was great. I'll make again with some good bread as a soup meal.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 small apples - peeled, cored, and diced
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 0.5 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 0.5 teaspoon ground allspice
• 0.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 0.25 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 (12 ounce) box frozen butternut squash
• 0.5 cup half-and-half
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 0.5 teaspoon dried tarragon

Steps

1. Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Cook shallot in hot oil until softened; add apples and saute until hot, about 1 minute. Transfer apple mixture to a stockpot.
2. Pour chicken broth and water into the stockpot; add nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until the apples are tender, about 15 minutes.
3. Stir butternut squash into the liquid. Bring mixture to a gentle boil while stirring occasionally. Stir half-and-half, butter, and tarragon into the liquid; cook, stirring continually, until the butter melts and the liquid is about to boil, about 5 minutes.