Squash, sweet potato & carrot soup

I’m going to be a total girl and talk about the weather… The high temperature on Tuesday was in the single digits. SINGLE digits. And with the wind chill, it felt like -13 degrees. Yes, it’s subzero in Chicago. No one wants to go outside and even inside our home, I can’t seem to get warm enough. I feel like the little kid from The Christmas Story – I have on so many layers and can’t keep my arms down. But I heard it’s going to be in the upper 20′s by the end of the week. Things are heating up.

When it’s cold outside, I try to warm myself up anyway I can. I’ll take a hot shower but then get cold when I’m drying off. I’ll look at our Hawaii pictures to “mentally” warm up, however, that never works. All it does is make me wish I lived in Hawaii. Working out is a temporary fix but commuting to & from the gym really makes we wish we had a home gym. Plus, I think my Mom told me being sweaty and going outside in cold weather makes people sick. (Or is this an Old Wives’ Tale..??)

Soup is something that never fails to warm me up. And when it’s really cold, I’ll go above & beyond to warm the belly. Something as easy as roasting vegetables can really change the taste of a recipe.  Roasting vegetables sweetens and intensifies the flavor instead of losing it into water like steaming or boiling does. And I love standing by the oven when it’s pumped up to 400 degrees.

Eating Oven Roasted Squash, Sweet Potato and Carrot soup is equivalent to getting into a warmed bed with a heating pad and being wrapped in a blanket like you’re a burrito. While I was eating dinner, I wasn’t thinking about how cold my feet felt or that another manicure would not save my cuticles from the extremely dry air. All I could focus on was how amazing this soup tastes! Roasting the veggies added a caramelized flavor and the soup had such a creamy texture. I couldn’t believe it was dairy free!

After writing this post, I’ve come to the realization if I need to distract myself from being cold, all I need to do is eat this soup. Luckily for me, this recipe makes a TON. Hopefully I’ll have enough leftover to make it to the weekend warm up!

Squash, sweet potato & carrot soup

 

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Ingredients

• 1 butternut squash (about 2 lb), peeled, seeded & diced into cubes
• 3 large sweet potatoes, peeled & diced into cubes
• 1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 1 onion, peeled and cut into 4 wedges
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• 8 cups vegetable broth
• ⅓ cup pine nuts
• Cooking spray
• 1 granny smith apple, cut into small cubes
• 2 tbsp parsley, chopped

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Line 2 or 3 baking sheets with foil. Divide squash, potatoes, carrots and onion between baking sheets. Drizzle oil, salt & pepper over the veggies. Toss veggies to coat. Roast until lightly brown, about 25 minutes. Stir veggies around the 15 minute mark.
3. In a soup pot, combine oven roasted veggies & vegetable stock. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Puree the soup by using an immersion blender or a blender working in batches. Taste and season with salt & pepper. Bring soup back up to a simmer.
5. In a skillet, toast pine nuts. Remove nuts from skillet. Spray skillet with cooking spray. At a medium heat, saute apple cubes for 3 minutes. Set aside.
6. When soup is ready, ladle into bowls and top with pine nuts, apples and parsley.

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