Butternut & Sweet Potato Winter Soup

4 cups diced 1-2" cubes, Butternut Squash, fresh
2 cups diced 1-2" cubes, Sweet Potato (Yams), fresh
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
4 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped, (or 2 tbsp dry)
4 cups vegetable broth
1 tbsp olive oil
black pepper, to taste
nutmeg, to taste
2 slices lean cooked bacon, chopped (optional)

This soup is easy to adjust to your taste. You can add radishes to the mix. Add fennel to the spices. You can omit bacon and add a tablespoon or two of butter to make it buttery. Also, once the onion is cooked removed about a quarter cup from the pot and add back AFTER you blend to give the soup more texture.

In soup pot on medium heat add olive oil, onion, garlic, carrot, cook until softened 5-10 minutes. Add vegetable broth, diced squash, diced sweet potato and bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes until softened.

Blend in pot with hand held blender or remove from heat and cool 10 minutes before pouring into a blender or food processor to blend and add back to pot.

Add finely chopped parsley (can use dry parsley if you don't have fresh but cut amount it half) and chopped cooked bacon (optional) it adds a savory element. Add pepper and nutmeg to taste. If your vegetable broth is the low sodium type you many need to add salt to taste too. Serve hot with crusty bread.

Serving Size: Makes about 6 servings

Number of Servings: 6

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user SIERRA104.