Autumn Honeynut Squash and Apple Cider Cream Soup

Cream soups are rich in flavor and pamper your palate with their smooth texture. This soup is an especially delicious way to showcase the subtle elegance of Roasted Vegetable Stock, a purely vegetable-based stock that carries layers of flavor and the ripe tastes of the garden. Once you get the hang of the method, feel free to try the soup with other vegetables in the leading role.

SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS

• 8 tablespoons (115 g/1 stick) unsalted butter

• 2 small honeynut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped

  A Kitchen on Goose Cove: Recipes from the Heart of Maine Devin Finigan

• 2 green apples, peeled, cored, and chopped

• 1 medium shallot, finely diced

• 1 medium leek, well rinsed and thinly sliced

• Leaves from 4 thyme sprigs

• ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

• 2 cups (480 ml) Roasted Vegetable Stock (see recipe below)

• 1 cup (240 ml) apple cider

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream

• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

• Fresh parsley leaves or dill, for garnish

  DIRECTIONS

1. In a soup pot or Dutch oven, warm the butter over medium heat until it foams. Add the squash, apple, shallot, leek, thyme, and salt and cook for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time so that the vegetables soften but do not brown. Add the stock, apple cider, and bay leaves and bring the liquid to a medium simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, until the squash is tender. Add the heavy cream and simmer for another 5 minutes, stirring from time to time.

2. Remove the pot from the heat and discard the bay leaves. Working in batches, transfer the contents of the pot to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Add the vinegar and pulse. Pass the soup through a fine-mesh strainer to remove the vegetable fiber. Season with salt to taste.

3. Serve warm in bowls or mugs, garnished with parsley or dill. Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

ROASTED VEGETABLE STOCK

In most stocks, the vegetables are merely supporting members, but here, by caramelizing a stock of just vegetables, they become the main players. The result is a broth with a nutty, sweet quality—plus, it’s 100% vegan!

MAKES ABOUT 4 QUARTS (3.84 L)

• 1 pound (455 g) celery, roughly chopped (including the leaves)

• 1 pound (455 g) carrots, scrubbed and roughly chopped

• 1 pound (455 g) onions, peeled and quartered

• 3 large leeks, white parts only, well rinsed and roughly chopped

• 2 heads garlic, unpeeled, halved horizontally

• 8 thyme sprigs

• 4 bay leaves

• 1 cup (50 g) chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

• 2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns

• 2 tablespoons grapeseed or canola oil

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

2. In a large bowl, toss together the vegetables, garlic, herbs, peppercorns, and oil. Transfer the mixture to a roasting pan and roast until the vegetables start to caramelize or turn golden brown, about 20 minutes. Stir from time to time for even browning.

3. Transfer the contents of the roasting pan to a stockpot. Place the roasting pan over high heat, pour in ½ cup (120 ml) water, and deglaze the pan, scraping up the caramelized bits on the bottom. Add this to the stockpot, along with 4 quarts (3.84 L) water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1 hour.

4. Line a fine-mesh sieve with cheesecloth. Strain the stock into a large bowl, pressing gently on the solids to get every last bit of flavor (discard the solids). When the stock has cooled, store it in 1-quart (960 ml) containers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Excerpted from A Kitchen on Goose Cove by Devin Finigan with Peter Kaminsky (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2026. Photographs by William Hereford.

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