Contributed by Angela Cleveland (Recipe adapted from “Season by Season” at www.seasonbyseason.com)

Ingredients

2 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
˝ C diced Onion (diced)
Ľ C diced Celery (diced)
Ľ C diced Carrot (diced)
1 Cinnamon stick
Salt and freshly ground pepper
About 4 C Vegetable Stock
˝ tsp ground toasted Coriander
1 ˝ C Cooked Butternut Squash (see directions above)
˝ C Soymilk (optional)
Ľ C Mascarpone cheese (optional) – or substitute 1 part milk and 8 parts cream cheese
2 Tbs toasted Pumpkin seeds (optional)

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until hot. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and cinnamon stick and sauté until soft but not brown, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the stock and the coriander, if using, and bring to a boil. Simmer for several minutes. Stir in the squash until smooth, and then simmer gently to let the flavors meld, about 10 minutes. Discard the cinnamon stick.

Puree the soup in a blender until smooth. (At this point, the soup can be cooled, covered, and refrigerated for several days or frozen for about 1 month. It will thicken as it cools and may need thinning with stock or water when re-heating.)

Return the soup to the pan and reheat gently. Add the soymilk, if using. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. If desired, garnish with a spoonful of mascarpone and/or a scattering of pumpkin seeds.

(Makes about 4-1/2 cups, serves 4)

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