Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

2 (2 pound) butternut squash
1 tablespoon olive oil + 1 teaspoon for brushing
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried sage
6 cups brown chicken stock (see notes below)
1 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

plain non-fat yogurt and spring onions for garnish

Cut squash in half, brush with oil, and roast in a 375 degree oven until soft (about 50 minutes). Meanwhile heat oil in pot and sauté onion and garlic with sage until soft seasoning with salt and pepper (use white pepper if you don’t like specks in the final soup… not being French, I have better things to worry about). Add stock and bring to a simmer. When squash is finished roasting scoop flesh out into the pot and add nutmeg. Using an immersion blender, puree soup until desired consistency is reached. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with yogurt and onions if desired.

makes about 5 two cup servings

calories: about 210
carbs: about 48g
fiber: about 8g
protein: about 6g
fat: about 4g

Notes:
You can use a canned broth or stock but for more flavor roast the odds and ends from a store bought rotisserie chicken (I keep some in the freezer) or left over bones from a whole uncooked chicken with some root veggies (carrots, onions, celery, garlic etc…) until darkened. Put it all in a large stock pot covering with cold water or a canned broth. Add some pepper and herbs and slowly bring to a boil. Simmer this, adding more water as needed, until you get tired (I let mine go for about 4 hours). Strain through some cheese cloth into a container and cool overnight in the fridge to make skimming the fat off the top easy. Freeze what you don’t use for later.

You can use a regular blender or food processor to blend the soup if you don’t have a stick blender. Be careful and go slow when blending hot food. You can blow the top off of the blender causing intense pain and a trip to the emergency room for anyone in range.

I tossed a whole habanero chili in my pot with the onions and garlic, but I like my food spicy. Feel free to do likewise just fish it out before blending (or don’t, it’s your mouth)

Enjoy. Try her out and let me know what you think.

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