Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

I have to admit: my best friend shared this with me after one of her culinary-trained friends shared it with her. I tend to use very little salt and more flavor in my recipes, so season to your taste...

This is a healthy and satisfying soup for any season. Baking the squash instead of peeling it saves time and creates a wonderful aroma in the kitchen. You can also bake the seeds for an extra snack!

Makes 12 (1 cup) servings

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 medium onions, peeled and sliced (3 cups)
3 pounds butternut squash, halved and seeded (save the seeds)
1 teaspoon of salt
¼ teaspoon of ground black pepper
1 rounded teaspoon ground cumin
3 sprigs of fresh thyme or ½ rounded teaspoon of dried ground thyme
2 cans of low-sodium chicken broth

Directions:

On foil-lined pan, coat foil with a small amount of olive oil and bake the squash, skin side down, for 30 – 45 minutes in a 350-degree oven. If you save the seeds, you can lightly salt and bake them on a cookie sheet for about 20 minutes.

In a 6-quart soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat and stir in the onions. Cover, reduce the heat, and braise for 15 minutes, checking that the onions don't burn.

Add the cooked squash to the onions. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, cumin, and thyme. Stir and add the broth.

Purée the soup with an immersion blender.

Taste to add more salt and cumin as desired.

Serve hot with croutons. Enjoy!