Fall isn’t official at our house until a warm bowl of this soup arrives on our table. It includes all the season’s flavors: apples, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and butternut squash. A food processor or hand blender works just as well for blending the soup.

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Spiced Butternut-Pumpkin Soup

Makes: 15 cups

Total Time1 35

Ingredients

2 Tbs butter
1 large sweet onion, diced
1 large red bell pepper,chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs finely grated fresh ginger
1 medium butternut squash,peeled and cubed (about 13⁄4 lb.)
1 small pumpkin, peeled and cubed (about 13⁄4 lb.)
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled and cubed
1 (32-oz.) container reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1½ tsp red curry paste*
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup whipping cream
1 Tbs fresh lime juice
Garnish: fresh sage

Instructions

Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat; add onion and bell pepper, and saute 8 minutes or until onion is golden. Stir in garlic and ginger, and cook 1 minute. Add squash, next 7 ingredients, and 4 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat, and let stand 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove and discard bay leaves.
Process soup, in batches, in a blender until smooth. Return to Dutch oven, and stir in cream. Bring to a simmer over medium heat; stir in lime juice, and add salt and pepper to taste.
*1 teaspoon curry powder may be substituted.

Notes

Note: 3 pounds butternut squash may be substituted for 1 3⁄4 pounds butternut squash and 1 3⁄4 pounds pumpkin.

Roasting squash and pumpkin seeds is one way to use almost every part of the vegetable. Soak the seeds in salted water for 3 hours, and then rinse. If the fibers don’t come clean with rinsing, repeat the soaking for one more hour. Dry the seeds, and toast at 300ÅãF for 10 to 15 minutes.

Try adding seasonings, such as salt, cinnamon, olive oil, or cumin, to vary the flavor.