Curried Butternut Squash and Wild Rice Soup

Let me first say that this soup turned out awesome, I absolutely loved it. The combination of the squash, sweet potato and apple plus the addition of the apple chicken sausage is perfect for fall. That being said I have to be honest and say this soup was pretty time consuming. If you could bypass cutting up the butternut squash, making this soup would be much easier. Now Brady did let me in on a secret (after I cut up 4 pounds of butternut squash), apparently you can microwave the butternut squash for a few minutes before cutting and that helps soften up the squash. Definitely going to try that next time!

While the soup took a little work to make it was definitely worth it. It would be the perfect recipe to make on a Sunday when you have a little more time. It would also be much easier with a second set of hands in the kitchen. Hopefully I haven't scared anyone from trying this recipe because it really is worth the work and it makes a ton so you can easily freeze some of the soup which will make all of your labor even more worth it!

Taken from the These Peas are Hallow website. My photographer (Brady) wasn't here and I have given up on trying to photograph soup. It always looks terrible!

Curried Butternut Squash and Wild Rice Soup
** from These Peas are Hallow

Serves: 8
Prep/Cook Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
1 - 4 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed into 1 inch pieces
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed into 1/2 inch pieces
6 shallots, peeled and quartered
2 small granny smith apples, or 1 large, peeled, cored, and quartered
10 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups wild rice, cooked according to package directions
1-2 tablespoons curry powder
4 chicken-apple sausages, diced
olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400.

Toss squash, apples, shallots, and sweet potatoes with a tablespoon olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and spread out on two baking sheets that have been sprayed with cooking spray. Roast for about an hour, tossing a few times, until soft and cooked through, and beginning to turn golden brown.

Transfer about half the vegetables to a food processor with 2-4 cups of chicken stock (enough to cover veggies), and puree until smooth. Transfer to stock pot, and repeat with remaining vegetables.  Stir in the cooked wild rice, and add the remaining chicken stock to desired thickness. Season with 1-2 tablespoons of curry powder, depending on how spicy you like it, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring the soup up to a very gentle simmer.

Meanwhile, heat a small amount of olive oil in a medium saute pan, and cook the sausage over medium high heat until cooked though and crispy brown. You can either stir the sausage in or use it as a garnish.