I like to mix storage vegetables, like carrots and squash, with fruit in soups. The result is often a sweet-and-savory soup that I find very satisfying, and that many people find surprising.

This has to be one of my favorites in the genre: butternut squash mixed with apples and reduced cider. (You can, of course, use another winter squash; delicate squash is wonderful here, too.) The real flavor kicker comes from the reduced cider mixture — just pour it into a skillet or wide saucepan and let it boil down while the vegetables cook.

The finished soup is laced with cinnamon and clove and, at that point, the aroma becomes too much to resist.

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 cups peeled and diced butternut squash
2 large apples (any kind), peeled, cored, and chopped
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
¼ teaspoon salt
1 bay leaf
1 ½ cups fresh cider
2 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Large pinch of ground cloves

1. Melt the butter in a medium-size pot or large saucepan over moderate heat. Stir in the onion, cover, and sweat for 10 minutes.

2. Add the squash, apples, stock, salt, and bay leaf to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to moderately low, cover, and simmer the soup until the squash and apples are very soft, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat.

3. As the soup simmers, pour the cider into a medium-size skillet, bring to a boil, and reduce to 4 or 5 tablespoons; you don’t have to be too precious about it. Remove from the heat.

4. Remove the bay leaf from the soup, then spoon the solids into a food processor. Process the mixture until smooth, then stir it back into the broth. Add the reduced cider. Reheat the soup, stirring in the brown sugar and spices. Serve piping hot.