Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Honey-Pecan Butter

I just made the best butternut squash soup, which is the perfect dinner for a cool autumn night. I fell in love with this recipe several weeks ago when I had a taste of my Mom's fixings. I made it tonight for dinner and MMMMMM, it was tasty! Here is the recipe (comes out of the AARP magazine, of all places) which serves eight people. I cut it in half for just me and Vic and have a couple servings left over. Note, it does take a couple of hours to prepare, so keep your afternoon open if you don't want to eat late. Tastes great with rolls.

2 butternut squash, about 4 lbs.
2 tablespoons butter
2 slices bacon, chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
Large pinch freshly grated nutmeg (I used ground nutmeg to taste, since only Martha Stewart has fresh nutmeg)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons toasted and finely chopped pecans (I used almonds since I forgot to buy the pecans - worked out great)

1 tablespoon honey

Whole leaves of Italian parsley

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Halve the squash and place pieces cut side down on an oiled baking sheet. Bake until the squash can easily be skewered, 45 - 60 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes. Remove the seeds and discard (I did this before I cooked the squash and it was fine). Scrape pulp and reserve. Discard peel.

2. In soup pot over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add bacon and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, about 10 minutes. Add squash and broth and simmer until squash falls apart, about 30 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes.

3. In a blender, puree soup in batches until very smooth, 2 to 3 minutes per batch. Strain into a clean soup pot and add orange juice and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper. If soup is too thick, thin with additional water or stock.

4. Make compound butter by mashing together the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter, pecans and honey. Season with salt and pepper. Roll butter in plastic wrap into a cylindrical shape, 1 inch in diameter. Store in the refrigerator.

5. To serve, ladle soup into festive soup bowls. Cut 1/4-inch slices of pecan butter and float one in center of each soup. Garnish with parsley.

THE BEST PART: Nutrients per serving: calories 194, protein 7g, carbohydrates 31g, fiber 7g (saturated fat 3g), cholesterol 10mg, sodium 714mg

Eet smakelijk!