Pumpkin and Butternut Squash Soup

Pretending that it's Fall even though it never feels that way on Saba.  I was going to make a purely pumpkin soup, but they didn't have the fresh pumpkin in the grocery stores that they usually have.  However, they did actually have butternut squash, which is a rarity.  So I got that and a can of pumpkin and made do.  The results were pretty great and I didn't miss the fresh pumpkin at all.  Try serving it with croutons (I made some homemade ones) and maybe a little goat cheese.

What you need:

1 medium/large butternut squash

Olive oil spray

Salt and pepper

1 medium/large onion, chopped

1 leek, white part only, chopped

2 small/medium apples, cored and chopped, peeling optional (it all gets blended in the end, and the peel is healthy, and less work!)

5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin

4 cups chicken broth

4 cups Silk coconut milk (not the regular canned kind.. that would make this really high fat and creamy- though probably delicious, so I go for it if you aren't concerned about the fat) OR try regular skim/ 1% milk or maybe almond milk

Start with roasting the squash:

Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Slice squash in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds, spray with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and place cut-side down on a baking sheet.  Roast for 40 minutes to an hour, or until it is cooked thoroughly (easily pierced by a fork).  Remove from oven and let cool until you can remove its skin.

For the rest of the soup:

Spray a large pot with olive oil.  Heat over medium and add the onion, leek, apple, and garlic.  Sprinkle in a little salt to get things going.  Cook until softened and just slightly browned.  Add in the roasted squash and can of pumpkin.  Stir and let brown just SLIGHTLY.  Add in the chicken broth and let simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.  Turn heat off, add in the milk and puree with an immersion blender until smooth.  Season with additional salt and pepper if needed.  Annnnnnd, that's it!  Pretty simple to make and super tasty!  Enjoy!