Full Power and Butternut Squash Soup

Here we are! Fully powered up and I'm ready to switch on that oven. It's a wonderful feeling when everything works.  The novelty of flicking on and off the light switches hasn't yet worn off.  The news of the impending Nor'easter bearing down on us and warnings of further power outages did make my stiff upper lip momentarily wobble but I've decided I'm just going to ignore this one.  We made it through Sandy and I've absolutely HAD IT with any more weather issues.  I'm going to keep calm and carry on cooking and just try not to look out of the window.

With all the excitement of the last week I'm fully into comfort cooking.  What screams comfort more than butternut squash soup.  My lovely mother in law who is staying with us as she still doesn't have power, told me this was the best soup she'd ever had - I'm going to believe her!


The lovely thing about this soup is that it's exceptionally easy, you roast the ingredients, warm up some chicken broth and blitz everything together.  Delicious, healthy and pure comfort.

Butternut Squash Soup.

1 large butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 small onion, peeled and quartered
2 apples, peeled and cored
olive oil
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
salt and pepper
a handful of chopped sage

32 oz of organic chicken stock
a tablespoon of heavy cream (optional)

Heat the oven to 425F

Peel and chop the squash and onions.  Peel and core the apples.  Place onto a baking tray.

Add the olive oil, sprinkle over the salt and pepper, cinnamon and chopped sage.  Mix together thoroughly.

Place in the oven and bake for approximately 40 minutes until the vegetables are really tender.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little.

Warm the stock in a large saucepan, add the vegetables and apples, remove to a blender and blend until smooth.  Return to the saucepan, add the cream if using.  Check the seasonings and serve.