Roasted Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

For the past few weeks I've been itching for the cooler weather to hit Ontario. I'm definitely not asking for winter-like temperatures nor do I miss shovelling snow. I'm talking about "Sweater Weather". A time when you can go for walks to see the leaves change colour wearing a heavy sweater and a light pair of gloves and just barely see your breath. I love this time of year!!

Many people have been asking me to find some crockpot and soup recipes. Yesterday I made this soup and quite enjoyed it. I had never eaten a butternut squash (and no, I wasn't born under a rock) - I'm just more partial to acorn squash. I adore sweet potatoes too so when I found this recipe I knew I had to try it out. I did make some changes to the original recipe that I found though. I feel this soup needed more liquid (it was quite thick originally) and the sweetness from some orange juice to compliment the other flavours.

This soup takes a little longer than most soups but it can be done in steps. Roasting the veggies is an extra step but really brings out the flavours of the vegetables so don't skip this step and just plop the veggies into the liquid to simmer. I had my veggies roasting in my oven while I went to pick up the kids from school then set them aside until I was ready to make the soup. With the help of one of my trusty bread machines this makes for an easy meal for busy week nights.

Not only is this a good tasting soup but it's is packed with vitamins A and C. Served with a salad and homemade bread it was a wonderfully warm and filling meal.

1 medium butternut squash - peeled, seeds removed and cubed

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed

1 large carrot, peeled and chopped (I used a large handful of baby carrots)

Drizzle of oil

salt and pepper, to taste

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

15oz low-sodium vegetable broth or chicken broth

1 cup water

1/2 cup orange juice

1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

salt and pepper, to taste

orange zest for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 400F. In a large bowl, toss squash, sweet potato and carrot with olive oil, salt and pepper ensuring that all of the veggies are coated in the oil. Place veggie mixture, in a single layer, on a large baking sheet and roast for 40-45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove veggies from oven and set aside.

In a large pot, heat 1 tbsp oil. Add onion and cook until tender. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Stir in roasted veggie mixture and cook for 5 minutes.

Add in the broth, water, orange juice and soy sauce. Add cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir well. Cook soup for 20 minutes. Using a hand blender puree soup. If you don't have a hand blender, transfer soup, in small batches, to your blender and puree.

Serve soup hot (add extra salt and freshly ground black pepper if needed) and garnish with orange zest. Freeze leftovers.