roasted butternut squash & sweet potato soup
Squash was something my parents cooked when I was a kid, not often--but often enough. And they usually did the butter/brown sugar thing. I thought these people were crazy! Veggie massacre! I stayed far away and happily ate my "safe and sound" corn and carrots and beans. This past winter, there was squash of all kinds on sale at the grocery store when I went with a friend, and being curious, I bought some. And because people on the web were always raving about squash this and squash that--I figured it must be good stuff, right? A few years ago when I did the Atkins thing I had cooked spaghetti squash a couple of times. But other than that type of squash, I was really at a loss, not knowing what the heck to DO with butternut or acorn squash, besides putting it through the butter and brown sugar massacre, which I certainly was NOT going to do. So I went to the trusty Internet to find recipes. To my amazement and delight, there were trillions of savory soups and other dishes that peaked my curiosity enough to try one or two. After trying to make my own version of a popular soup (about 5 times), I finally came up with one. The result was fan-tabulous! I made this just when the cold, crazy blizzards in St. Paul hit us early in February (we usually get them in March). When I bragged to my mom about having made it, I felt like Martha Stewart (who really likes HER, anyway?). I imagined it would be hard, but it wasn't, YAY! It was a good thing. And now I'm a bit smug about it, but I will share the recipe with you anyway!
Ingredients For roasted butternut squash & sweet potato soup
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1 lgbutternut squash
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1 lgsweet potato
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olive oil
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salt and pepper
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1pat of butter
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3onions or 4 shallots, diced
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3 clovegarlic
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1 1/2 ptvegetable or chicken stock
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1 chalf and half
How To Make roasted butternut squash & sweet potato soup
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1Preheat oven to 375 F, scrub squash and sweet potato.
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2Cut the squash & sweet potato in half, lengthwise, scooping out the seeds of the squash.
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3Rub the cut sides with a little oil, and sprinkle salt & pepper, then place cut side-down on a baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork (if using fresh garlic cloves instead of jarred minced garlic, add these as well to the baking pan).
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4While baking the vegetables, heat butter in a pot and add the onion or shallots and garlic and cook until just soft.
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5Remove squash and sweet potato from the oven, and set aside to let rest until cool enough to handle with your hands.
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6Scoop out the flesh from the potato and squash, and remove all the skin.
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7Place veggies into the pot with the broth, and cook for 10-15 minutes until the potato & squash is even more tender.
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8Remove the pot from the heat, allowing the veggie & broth mix to cool down a bit, then in batches, run the broth and vegetable mixture through the food processor or blender until pureed to a smooth consistency.
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9Return the mixture to the pot, Reduce heat and stir in milk, adding salt & pepper to taste.
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10Simmer for about 5-10 minutes until heated through, and serve.
- Last Step: Don't forget to share! Make all your friends drool by posting a picture of your finished recipe on your favorite social network. And don't forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes so we can see it too!