Roasted Butternut Squash Soup...

I have a nasty cold this weekend and soup was the only thing that even sounded good to me today. I had to check what I had in the fridge and cupboards to decide what I could make and I saw a butternut squash and sage leaves that both needed to be used before they went bad. Then, I googled for a low fat version of butternut squash soup since most recipes include cream or half and half and I am trying to eat healthier in 2011. I found this recipe on KansasCity.com

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
as copied from the KansasCity.com website
Makes 6 servings (about 7 cups)

4 cloves garlic, not peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 butternut squash, about 2  3/4 pounds
1 small to medium sweet yellow onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 carrots, peeled and sliced about 3/4 -inch thick
4 to 6 sage leaves, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper, plus additional pepper to taste, divided
1 (32-ounce) carton vegetable stock
1/4 teaspoon rubbed sage

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 10- by 15-inch jelly roll pan with aluminum foil.

Place the unpeeled garlic cloves on a 6-inch square of aluminum foil. Drizzle about 1/2 teaspoon olive oil over garlic; bring aluminum foil up over garlic to make a packet. Set on edge of aluminum foil-covered pan.

Using a large, heavy knife, cut off ends of squash. Peel using a vegetable peeler. Cut squash in half, remove and discard seeds. Cut squash into 1 to 1  1/2 -inch cubes. Place squash in a mixing bowl. Add onion and carrots. Drizzle vegetables with remaining olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and sage leaves; toss to coat vegetables evenly. Spread in a single layer on prepared pan.

Bake, uncovered, 20 minutes; stir squash and carrot mixture, then continue roasting 15 to 20 minutes or until vegetables are very tender and golden brown. (There is no need to stir the garlic.)

Allow roasted vegetables to cool slightly. Spoon roasted vegetables into blender or work bowl of food processor. Carefully open garlic packet, allowing steam to escape. When cool enough to handle, gently squeeze roasted garlic out of skin and add the garlic to the vegetables.

Blend until smooth. (Add a little of the vegetable stock if needed so blending is easy. Work in batches as necessary.) Spoon puree into saucepan.

Blend in vegetable stock and rubbed sage. Season to taste with pepper. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until hot and steamy.

My Notes: I didn't have any vegetable stock so I used fat free chicken stock. I also think you can never have enough sage or garlic with butternut squash so I roasted 6 cloves of garlic and used at least 10 sage leaves. The vegetables weren't roasted to my likening at 375 degrees so I ended up putting them on 425 for an extra 15 minutes. I also used the stick blender to puree the soup.

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - refused to even taste it and had a meatball sandwich for dinner instead :)