Roasted Winter Squash & Apple Soup

Want to fill your home with the most wonderful fall fragrance? Make this Roasted Squash and Apple Soup! The smell of roasting squash, onion, apple, and garlic was total heaven and the soup was good too!

I found the recipe in the October 2006 Body & Soul magazine, originally from Eating Well for Optimum Health by Andrew Weil, M.D.

The original recipe calls for 2-1/2 lbs of squash, but mine was only 1-1/2 so I reduced the proportions of most ingredients. But at the point of adding the vegetable stock, I forgot all about that, and put in the full 4 cups of stock. So I added a little half & half and my version certainly wasn't thin. I cooked the stock and vegetables together for 5-10 minutes (because I wanted to use my immersion blender, not a food processor), while the original recipe simply has you puree the roasted vegetables with the broth and then reheat.

The soup is sweet, but its very subtle. Pleasantly warming as an appetizer for a fall dinner, the smell will draw everyone to the kitchen.

Roasted Winter Squash & Apple Soup (adapted from Eating Well for Optimum Health):

1-1/2 lb winter squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 2" chunks
3-4 small onions, peeled and quartered
3 large garlic cloves, peeled
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and cut into 2" chunks
1-2 tbsp olive oil (for roasting)
salt
chili powder
3-4 cups of vegetable broth (I used 4)
2 tbsp half & half (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400. Place the squash, onions, garlic cloves, and apple in a large ovenproof dish. Pour the olive oil over the vegetables and stir until all are lightly covered. Sprinkle with salt and chili powder and bake for 45 minutes, stirring regularly.

Heat the vegetable stock and roasted vegetables in a large saucepan. Cook for 5-10 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Puree with an immersion blender and adjust seasoning as needed. Serve!