Roasted butternut squash soup

So, Halloween came and went. We had  a really fun party for the kids and their friends - 14 kids in total. They really enjoyed "mummy sausages dipped in blood", "grape caterpillars", "icy gummyworms" (one little girl sat petrified for several minutes, believing those were real) and "graveyard muffins". Lots of fun!

However, we didn't carve a pumpkin. I couldn't find a good one in time, and then I sort of just ran out of time. We had some other decorations, but Titus was disappointed since he had looked forward to a pumpkin soup. (Not that you actually want to make soup from your carved pumpkin, but he doesn't know that...) So, last night I made this lovely soup instead. Very yummy! Well, I thought so at least - neither the kids nor the husband were fans. Oh well...

Roasted Butternut Squash soup

1 small butternut squash - peeled and cut into large dice
1 onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
olive oil
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
about 1 litre chicken stock
100 ml cream
salt

Start by tossing the squash with a little olive oil and salt, and roast in a 200°C oven for 20-25 minutes. It should be lightly browned.

In a soup pot, heat some olive oil and sauté carrot and onion with coriander and cinnamon until soft - about ten minutes. Add the squash dice, and the chicken stock. Cook for at least ten minutes on low heat, make sure everything is nice and soft.

Use a blender, or an immersion blender, to make the soup completely smooth. Stir in a little cream if desired (always desired in my family), and season with salt and pepper to taste.

We served this with crispy fried bacon and sour cream and a nice sourdough baguette.