Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

INGREDIENTS

1 large butternut squash

Butter (around half a stick, but use as much or as little as you like)

1 onion

3 -5 cloves garlic, minced

2 C vegetable broth

1 C applesauce

1 C water

1 C heavy cream

Fresh rosemary

Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

First, roast your squash. Preheat your oven to 375, and cut the squash longways down the middle. Scoop out the seeds and strings, so that all that’s left is the meat. See the little hollows where you scooped the seeds out of each half? Put the butter in there. Alternately, you can melt the butter and brush it all over the inside of the squash – either method works just fine. Put the two halves, cut side up, in a baking dish and bake for about 45 minutes.

While your squash is in the oven roasting away, you can go ahead and start the rest of your soup. If you want to use a pot on the stove, set it on low, or you can use a crockpot on the lowest setting. Dice the onion into small pieces, and put them in the pot with the garlic, vegetable broth, applesauce and heavy cream. Cover the pot with a lid while it simmers.

Once your squash is done, let it cool for a few minutes, and then scoop the meat out of the center – it should be nice and tender by now. Place the squash meat into your blender or chopper and puree it so it’s smooth and creamy – depending on how big your blender is, and how big your squash is, you may need to do this in batches. After you’ve pureed the squash, add it into the soup pot and stir gently to get it all blended together.

How long you leave your soup simmering is entirely up to you – if you’re doing it on the stovetop, be sure to stir occasionally so it doesn’t burn. If you do it in the crockpot, about four hours is a good time. About half an hour before you plan to serve it, chop up some fresh rosemary and stir it in, as well as adding as much salt and pepper as you like.

If you like, garnish with a small dollop of sour cream and some chopped green onions. Serve this at your Mabon celebration with a big chunk of crusty bread, your favorite veggie dish, or anything else you can think of!