Roasted Squash Soup With Almond Cream and Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

Roasted Squash Soup With Almond

Cream And Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

This is a recipe that after the first taste, it will be high on your list for a favorite.  Daughter Barbara made it for Thanksgiving dinner and it will be on the Christmas dinner table.  Wow! What a flavor!!!  So worth the time.
Ingredients:
Almond Cream
Almonds must be soaked overnight!
2 cups sliced almonds
3 tablespoons safflower oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt 

1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon fresh chives

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Roasted Squash Soup

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon Earth Balance Buttery Spread

1 cup diced white onion

1 cup chopped apple

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon chipotle chile powder

1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh sage

1/4 teaspoon fresh rosemary

1/2 lemon grass stalk, split

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

3 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded

   and cut into 1 inch pieces

8 cups vegetable stock

 *

Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

1 cup pumpkin seeds, hulled

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Pinch of ground cinnamon

Sea slat and freshly ground black pepper

*

Directions:

To make the cream the day before serving, put the almonds in a bowl and add enough water to cover them.  Cover and let soak overnight in the refrigerator.

Drain the nuts and transfer to a blender.  Add the oil, lemon juice, salt, and water and blend until smooth, about 5 minutes.  Transfer to a bowl, stir in the chives, and set aside.  The cream will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

To make the soup, heat the oil and buttery spread in a large soup pot over medium heat.  Add the onion, apple, cinnamon, chipotle powder, sage, rosemary lemongrass stalk and salt and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.

Add the squash to the pot and stir to coat, about three minutes.  Add the stock, bring to a boil, decrease the heat, and simmer, covered, until the squash is tender, about 40 minutes.  Remove the lemongrass stalk and let the soup cool.

Transfer the soup to a blender and blend until smooth.   Or blend the soup with an immersion blender until smooth.  This will have to be done in batches.  The soup can be made ahead of time up to this point.  It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or frozen up to 3 months.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300 F.

To prepare the pumpkin seeds, combine the seeds, oil, lemon juice, cinnamon and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl and mix together.  Transfer to a baking sheet and roast for 5 to 10 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until the seeds are lightly browned.

To serve, pour the warm soup into bowls. Add a dollop of the almond cream and sprinkle with the roasted pumpkin seeds.