savory butternut squash soup

I had half of a large butternut squash sitting in my refrigerator just waiting for inspiration to hit when I ran across this recipe for a butternut squash soup.  It tastes great and it couldn't be easier. The squash was from my garden and our apples were an early variety and are gone.  The recipe calls for Gala  apples.  The apples that we used were given to us and I am not sure of the variety.  The vegetables are coated with a little olive oil and spices and roasted in the oven.  Then the roasted vegetables are put in a pot with some homemade vegetable stock and cooked for another 15 minutes.  The vegetables and stock are then pureed--I used my immersion blender but you could use a blender or food processor--until smooth.  Some cream is added and it is ready to serve.

here are the vegetables, oil and spices in my stoneware  bowl

ready to roast at 425° for 40 minutes

finished soup

I will definitely be making this again.  It has such a silky texture and great color.  I can see a big bowl of this soup alone or with a sandwich as a main dish or a smaller portion as a soup course.  

savory butternut squash soup

1 butternut squash, peeled seeded and cut into cubes
2 carrots, cut into chunks
1 medium sweet onion, cut into cubes
2 apples, peeled and cut into chunks
3 cloves of garlic
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper (I omitted this)
32 ounces vegetable stock
1 cup heavy cream

Prepare the vegetables and put them in a large bowl with the oil, salt and spices.  Stir with a spoon or your hands until the vegetables are coated with the oil and spices.  Transfer to a baking sheet that has parchment on it.  Roast in preheated oven at 425° for 40 minutes.  Remove from oven and transfer to a large soup kettle.  Add the stock and simmer for 15 minutes on medium heat.  Remove from the heat and puree, working in batches if needed.  If soup  is too thick add a little more stock.  I ended up adding about another cup of stock to thin the soup.,  Add the cream, stir and serve.

Source for recipe is here.