Roasted Root Soup

Ingredients

• 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
• 1 leek, white and light green parts only, sliced into 1" rings (wash them well)
• 1/2 onion, cut into chunks
• 1 carrot, peeled and sliced into 1" chunks
• 1 parsnip, peeled and sliced into 1" chunks
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
• 3 cloves of garlic, in skins

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 4 cups chicken stock, warmed
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
• 1/4 cup cream or half-and-half

Equipment

• cutting board and knife
• peeler
• measuring cup and spoons
• baking sheet
• large Dutch oven or soup pot
• hand blender

Here is how:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degres F.
2. Spread squash, leek, onion, carrot, parsnip, sweet potato, and garlic on a half-sheet pan or large baking sheet and drizzle them with olive oil.
3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss everything with your hands to make sure it is all coated with oil.
4. Roast in the hot oven for about 20-25 minutes until squash is soft when poked with a fork.
5. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with brown sugar and nutmeg. Let cool a bit.
6. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skin onto the other vegetables (and discard garlic skins).
7. Scoop everything into a large Dutch oven or soup pot.
8. Add 3 cups of chicken stock and puree vegetables with a hand blender. (You can transfer everything into a regular blender in batches, too, but a hand blender is perfect for this.) Once it's almost at the consistency you like (I like it thick), add the last cup of stock and sage.
9. Simmer over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes.
10. Add cream and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with garlic bread — here's my super-quick method: Toast thick slices of bread in regular toaster until just barely golden. Slice one (peeled) clove of garlic lengthwise and rub cut side of garlic all over one side of the hot toast. Drizzle with a little olive oil or spread a bit of butter. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and pop it all under the broiler for about a minute (watch it — it sizzles quickly). Serve hot!

Tamara writes that she got this recipe from her favorite blog, Posie Gets Cozy. "I added 1/2 onion, 1 carrot, 1 parsnip and used only 1 leek. It is SO yummy! I actually made the same recipe but not into soup, just as roasted root veggies...I fed some to my son, who loved it as well!"