Butternut Squash Soup

It is April 19th today and I am still wearing my winter coat hence soup is still on the menu in our house. I made this soup last Friday and as with many of my recipes I ate the results before taking a final picture. To correct this oversight I made another batch of the same soup today. It is so easy to make and truly delicious. I have made Butternut Squash soups in the past but this one is a keeper. The consistency is just right. The recipe was inspired by one that was in this months Chatelaine Magazine. I did make one change and that is I used a pear rather than an apple. It would also be easy to make this a vegetarian version by simply replacing the chicken broth with vegetable broth.

When I served this for lunch on Friday I served it up with crostini toasts topped with chevre. Another option is garlic bread and a side salad to make it a light meal. I plan on having this soup tonight with baguette topped with boursin cheese. It will be the perfect light meal before my 7pm run.

Another of my favourite kitchen gadgets is my immersion blender. It makes pureeing soups so easy and less messy. You can simply puree the soup directly in the saucepan and then you just rinse the blender and back in the drawer it goes. They are also very inexpensive. I think I paid about $15 at Canadian Tire for the one I have.

Ingredients:

1 large butternut squash peeled, seeded and cut into large pieces
1 large red onion chopped
1 pear peeled, cored and cut into chunks
2 900ml cartons of low sodium chicken broth
1 T curry powder
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream or plain yogurt

Put squash, onion, pear and chicken broth in a large saucepan and set over high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer covered for until squash is very soft, about 25 minutes.

Puree soup in batches in a blender or with an immersion blender (hand held). Return to the saucepan and stir in the curry powder and sour cream. Season with salt and pepper

serves 12
Per Serving: 87 calories, 5 g protein, 18 g carbs, 1g fat, 2 g fibre, 65 mg sodium