Thanksgiving was a great day. We spent it with some wonderful friends, ate, drank and played bocci ball! Living in Florida has its advantages! Our wonderful host Debbie made a delicious butternut squash soup that I had to have the recipe for. It was spicy but not “hot” spicy. Just enough of a bite to it to make the flavors pop! The main spice blend she used in this is Garam Masala. I had never heard of it before so I looked it up. It’s just a basic blend of ground spices that are common in Indian and South Asian foods. I looked up a recipe about making it myself. Lots of whole seeds and roasting and so on. But then I figured I will just buy it premade, otherwise I will have so many whole spices just hanging around my pantry. The basic mix includes cumin, coriander, cardamom, black peppercorns, cinnamon, whole cloves, nutmeg and saffron. LOTS of different spices! So I will just buy a jar of it already made.

The recipe was originally adapted from a recipe from Ina Garten and then Debbie made her own changes and made it her own! The recipe called for 3 granny smith apples but she only had two. She did have a pear, so she added that! Delish! I brought some of the leftovers home and can’t wait to have another bowl! This recipe makes 8-10 servings so feel free to cut it in half if you don’t want to make so much! And for best results make the soup a day ahead of time for the flavors to blend!

My photo is of the leftovers I brought home. I will swap out the pic once I make it on my own.

INGREDIENTS:

5-6 pounds butternut squash, peeled and seeded

2 yellow onions

3 granny smith apples (or 2 apples and 1 pear), peeled and cored

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon Garam Masala

½ teaspoon ground ginger

4-6 cups of chicken broth (you can substitute 1-2 cups of Thai Curry flavored broth from College Inn for 1-2 cups of the chicken broth)

4-5 sage leaves, chopped

salt and pepper, to taste

Parmesan cheese, if desired

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF. Cut the squash, apples/pears, and onions into 1″ chunks and mix in a large bowl with the olive oil until well blended.

2. Spread the squash veggie mixture onto 2 cookie sheets lined with foil (you can spray the foil with cooking spray). There should be a single layer of the mixture.

3. Sprinkle the Garam Masala and ground ginger over the squash mixture; salt and pepper as desired.

4. Roast 40-45 minutes until tender.

5. Heat 4 cups of broth in a large pot. When squash mixture is finished roasting, add it to the pot of broth and cook for 20-25 minutes. Add the chopped sage in the last 10 minutes of cooking.

6. Working in batches, purée the veggie/broth mixture using a food processor, blender or immersion blender. Put back in pot and adjust the broth amount to desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Can be served with parmesan cheese as well! (You know we will have it for sure!)

Serves 8-10